THE White House has slammed Kyiv for “insulting” Donald Trump as the US President has been left “frustrated” with his Ukrainian counterpart.
But, the American has “welcomed” Sir Keir Starmer’s proposal to send 30,000 UK and European troops into Ukraine after a ceasefire deal is inked.
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz recently made comments following the cancellation of a joint press conference with Zelensky and Trump’s envoy in Ukraine.
US-Ukraine relations took a dive when Trump branded Zelensky a “dictator” and Kyiv slammed his attempts at peace talks with Russia.
The President sparked uproar on Wednesday after lashing out at Ukraine’s wartime leader and accusing him of “refusing to have elections”.
Trump alarmed many with a strong statement on Truth Social, cautioning Zelensky to take quick action to safeguard his country, which led to concerns among global leaders about deteriorating diplomatic relations.
During the aborted press conference, Waltz emphasized the White House’s expectation for Ukraine to show more gratitude rather than direct criticisms towards its leader.
He said: “His frustration with President Zelensky is multi fold – one, there needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people, the American taxpayer, Trump did in his first term and what we have done since.
“Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, and frankly, insults to President Trump are unacceptable.”
He added that the Ukrainian president “needs to come back to the table” to continue discussions about the minerals deal with Washington for providing aid during the war.
Waltz had previously told Fox News that pushback on the deal and how Trump is conducting peace talks is “simply unacceptable”.
As European leaders scramble to claw back US support for Ukraine, the White House has said it is welcoming their security guarantees for the war-torn country.
After Trump held peace negotiations with Russia in Saudi Arabia, western leaders were left reeling after being frozen out of talks and an emergency meeting was held in Paris.
The UK and France have since suggested a peacekeeping plan that PM Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to propose to Trump in Washington next week.
Starmer has backed Ukraine in the ongoing feud with Trump, but is hoping to “act as a bridge” between the US and Europe when he meets the President on Thursday.
He is set to show Trump how European forces can help protect any peace deal that is secured to deter Russia from breaking the terms of the agreement.
Western officials briefed on the plans have signalled that a peacekeeping force to police a 1000km frontline could be as small as 30,000 troops.
This is despite Ukraine’s President Zelensky saying it would take at least 200,000 soldiers to deter a new Russian invasion.
But a senior western official said: “30,000 feels still on the high side, because the purpose of that force would be predominantly around reassurance and trying to instil some confidence in the Ukraine population and in the state.”
He said the troops would have specific tasks such as showing the world “that nuclear power plants are now under an international security umbrella to allow the surveys to take place, to allow the maintenance to be caught up.”
It comes as Waltz said that “Europe needs to step up.”
He said: “We’ve made it clear for years, decades even, that it is unacceptable that the US and US taxpayer continues to bear the burden not only of the cost of the war in Ukraine but of the defence of Europe.
“We fully support our NATO allies, we fully support the Article 5 commitment, but it’s time for our European allies to step up.”
He added that despite European allies having had a “war on their doorstep” they have put the burden of defence “on somebody else.”
Waltz highlighted that a third of NATO allies are not meeting the 2 per cent minimum in defence spending that was agreed upon years ago.
“Europe needs to step up for their own defence as a partner – we can be friends and allies and have those tough conversations,” he said.
He reiterated that “Trump’s goal is to bring this war to an end. Period.”
