‘Grateful to Trump personally’: Zelensky shifts tone after US President’s ‘zero gratitude’ swipe

Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, “Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday appeared to soften his tone toward Washington after US President Donald Trump publicly accused Kyiv of showing “zero gratitude” for United States' latest peace proposal amid sensitive Geneva-based negotiations to end the war with Russia.

Trump, who has oscillated sharply in his approach to Ukraine since the start of his second term, used his Truth Social account earlier in the day to claim that Ukraine's leadership “EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS,” referring to his peace blueprint that incorporates several of Moscow’s demands.

Hours later, Zelensky responded with a markedly conciliatory post on X, writing: “Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance that — starting with the Javelins — has been saving Ukrainian lives.”

As the public exchange played out online, negotiators from both countries were huddled in Geneva trying to refine the 28-point US draft plan. Ukrainian officials said the latest version shows movement in their favour.

“The current version of the document, although still in the final stages of approval, already reflects most of Ukraine's key priorities,” Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s security council secretary and lead negotiator, said, reported news agency AFP.

The original US blueprint had raised eyebrows in Kyiv and across Europe for conceding to several Russian demands, including requiring Ukraine to cede territory, reduce its military and pledge not to join NATO.

It also contained broad security guarantees and proposed using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Trump has set a soft deadline of November 27, Thanksgiving Day in the US, for Ukraine to decide on the proposal, though he has hinted the timeline could stretch if talks show progress.

Geneva talks

In Geneva, top Ukrainian officials also held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to assess the viability of Trump’s proposal.

Rubio described the opening session as “probably the most productive and meaningful meeting” since the Trump administration took office, reported the Associated Press.

He told reporters that both delegations would reconvene for a second round later Sunday. “This will ultimately have to be signed off by our presidents, although I feel very comfortable about that happening given the progress we’ve made,” he said, reported AP. Rubio added that any final peace plan would require Russia’s approval as well.

Rubio was joined by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.