Zelensky willing to give up presidency for peace and Nato membership

President Zelensky declared his focus on Ukraine’s security on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would give up his presidency if doing so guaranteed lasting peace for Ukraine and membership of Nato.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday, the president said: "If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that, and I also can exchange it for Nato membership for Ukraine.”. "We can exchange it for Nato membership. If those are the terms, then let's do it without delay. I'm focused on Ukraine's security today, not In 20 years, and I have no intention of staying in power for a decade. This is my focus and my greatest aspiration.".

His remarks follow US president Donald Trump’s jibes that he was a “dictator without elections” following US talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, as he warned that Ukraine “better move fast or he's not going to have a country left”. He also ruled out a rare earth minerals deal where $500bn worth of profits from Ukrainian rare minerals would be given to the US to compensate for military aid provided over the last three years under Joe Biden.

Mr Zelensky dismissed the proposals: “As of today, as of this evening, the question of $500bn is no longer there.”. He called the idea in which aid to Ukraine was now considered a debt, a “Pandora’s box” that would set a precedent requiring the country to reimburse all its backers in the war.

Trump officials have put pressure on Kyiv to sign a deal, as treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News Channel on Sunday that the plan would be a “win-win”. He said: “We make money if the Ukrainian people make money.”. Meanwhile, Kyiv reported that it had experienced the largest drone attack of the war so far on Saturday night ahead of the war’s third anniversary.

Russian forces fired 267 drones at Ukraine in an overnight attack, striking five regions of Ukraine; 138 of them were shot down, with 119 jammed by electronic warfare en route, according to Kyiv, in which case only 10 drones made it to their target. Three ballistic missiles were also fired and one person was killed in the city of Kryvyi Rih.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said it demonstrated that “avoiding calling Russia an aggressor does not change the fact that it is one”. “No one should trust Putin's words. Look at his actions instead.”. The record-breaking night of the war comes as the world will mark three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Monday.

Guests will include the likes of Canadian president Justin Trudeau, Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez. New sanctions against Russia from the UK will kick in on Monday, described as the biggest package since the early days of the war.

Foreign secretary David Lammy said these measures would be aimed at "eroding (Russia's) military machine and reducing revenues fueling the fires of destruction in Ukraine". Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron will visit Washington DC later this week in an attempt to persuade Mr Trump not to abandon Ukraine while pursuing a peace deal.