A Ukrainian government jet carrying President Volodymyr Zelensky departed the Republic of Ireland, where he had met with the Irish Prime Minister on Thursday, en route to a meeting with Donald Trump on Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, he confirmed on Wednesday evening. Speaking in his nightly address to Ukraine, Zelensky said, per Kyiv state media:
Our teams are working with America, we are preparing for negotiations this Friday. An agreement with America. Support for our state and people. Guarantees of peace and security are the key to preventing Russia from destroying the lives of other nations. I will meet with President Trump.
Due to the wartime conditions in Ukraine, Zelensky is not generally able to fly in his own country and customarily takes the train to neighbouring Poland where his executive jet lives. He flew to Ireland’s Shannon international airport, the final major airport capable handling of handling large jets in Western Europe where his aircraft refuelled before taking off for America.
Ukraine Agrees to Trump’s Rare Earth Minerals Deal, Zelensky to Sign in Washington on Fridayhttps://t.co/JmoZhYUOjR
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 26, 2025
Zelensky’s jet departed Ireland around 3pm local time (1000 EST) and is scheduled to arrive at the US Military airbase Andrews around 1800 EST.
While waiting for his jet to be refuelled, Zelensky met briefly with Ireland’s Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Micheál Martin at the airport. After the meeting, Martin said he’d told Zelensky his government would “push very strongly for an accelerated timeline in terms of Ukrainian membership of the European Union” and that the men had discussed financial aid for Ukraine.
In return, Martin said Zelensky had told him that he was “very focussed” on the “potential peace settlement”, reports RTE. Martin said: “Ceasefires on their own don’t give you the longer-term security. But of course, ceasefires, particularly in such big countries such as Ukraine, are significantly difficult to monitor.”
Zelensky’s trip to meet President Trump comes after Ukraine and the U.S. said they had agreed on the text of an initial framework for Trump’s critical mineral rare earth deal, a mechanism which seeks to get a return on investment for America’s spending on the Ukraine War, while helping fund Ukraine to rebuild.
