‘Short-Sighted’ Zelensky Rubs Trump The Wrong Way? US Blames Ukraine For Russia’s War, Demands Polls

The White House has slammed the Ukrainian leader as “short-sighted” for refusing to sign a deal that would grant US access to Kyiv’s mineral resources, reported AP. The proposal was reportedly a key topic of Zelensky’s recent talks with US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference.Trump has demanded the “equivalent of $500 billion worth of rare earths” from Ukraine in exchange for “more than $300 billion” of US aid.Meanwhile, the US president on Feb. 18 pushed back against Ukraine’s objections to being excluded from US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump spoke for the first time since an American delegation held a working dialogue with Moscow about Ukraine in Riyadh. “I’m very disappointed. I hear that, you know, they’re upset about not having a seat. Well, they’ve had a seat for three years and a long time before that,” Trump said. The Ukrainian President had earlier criticised the US-Russia talks for excluding Kyiv, saying efforts to end the war must be “fair” and involve European countries. Volodymyr Zelensky’s comments appeared to agitate Trump, who proceeded to launch a series of attacks on his Ukrainian counterpart. n18oc_world n18oc_crux0:00 INTRODUCTION3:30 WHITE HOUSE LABELS UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT AS “SHORT-SIGHTED”4:55 EU TOP DIPLOMAT CAUTIONS US AGAINST WALKING INTO PUTIN’S “TRAPS”7:45 RUBIO BRIEFS EUROPEAN LEADERS8:20 KYIV ACCUSES TRUMP TEAM OF ‘FEEDING PUTIN’S APPETITE’