Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump will meeting in New York today (Image: GETTY)
has vowed to strike a peace deal between Ukraine and after confirming details of a meeting with President , who is currently visiting the United States.
The Ukrainian leader will visit Trump Tower in New York against a backdrop of rising tensions, with many irritated at what they regard as Mr Zelensky’s preference for the administration of incumbent and Kamala Harris, his vice-president and would-be successor.
Ms Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in November, met with Mr Zelensky yesterday and expressed her unwavering support.
Former president Mr Trump, who says Mr Zelensky asked for the meeting, told reporters on Thursday: “I look forward to seeing him tomorrow.
“I believe I will be able to broker a deal between President and President Zelensky quite quickly.”
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Kamala Harris and Volodymyr Zelensky met yesterday (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The meeting is highly anticipated and comes as Election Day approaches, with Mr Trump and Mr Harris taking contrasting positions on support for in what is the third year of its war with , following Putin’s invasion on February 24, 2022.
Mr Trump claims would never have invaded had he been president, and has also mocked Mr Zelensky as a “salesman” for obtaining US assistance for .
Recently, Mr Trump has praised ’s historic military victories and insisted that the US needs “to get out” and end its involvement with .
Friday’s meeting was almost not scheduled, despite Mr Zelensky’s office stating that something had been planned during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the UN General Assembly, where he is making his final pitch to allies.
Vladimir Putin attends the plenary session of the VII International Forum in Moscow (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
In an interview with The New Yorker published earlier this week, Me Zelensky suggested that Trump does not understand and oversimplifies the conflict.
The Ukrainian leader also claimed Mr Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, was “too radical” and had essentially called for to “make a sacrifice” by “giving up its territories.”
Mr Trump has criticised Mr Zelensky and on two separate occasions this week. Speaking in North Carolina on Wednesday, Trump referred to as “demolished” and its people as “dead.”
He declared: “Any deal – even the worst deal – would have been better than what we have now.
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Lindsey Graham is backing Donald Trump – but also ongoing support for Ukraine (Image: Getty)
“If they had made a bad deal, it would have been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit, and everyone would still be alive, and every building would still be standing, with towers ageing for another 2,000 years.”
By contrast, Ms Harris stood alongside Mr Zelensky yesterday and stated that Trump’s push for to negotiate a swift deal to end the war was “not a proposal for peace,” but “a proposal for surrender.”
Mr Trump responded by insisting he was not advocating for surrender.
While Mr Trump and Mr Vance have long been sceptical of US support for , other Republican allies of the former president have backed Kyiv’s defence against Moscow’s invasion, arguing that supporting is in America’s interest.
Donald Trump in front of his famous golden elevator at Trump Tower in New York (Image: AFP via Getty Images)