Still reeling from Trump denouncing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as a “dictator” and accusing him of starting the war, Kyiv said it was in the final stages of agreeing a deal with Washington to provide access to its mineral wealth.

“We hope both US and UA leaders might sign and endorse it in Washington the soonest to showcase our commitment for decades to come,” Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna wrote on X.

The deal is at the heart of Kyiv’s bid to win U.S. support, but officials have wrangled over its wording in the shadow of an extraordinary war of words between Trump and Zelenskiy, who said the U.S. leader was living in a “disinformation bubble”.

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Zelenskiy refused to sign an earlier draft in which Washington sought $500 billion in natural wealth, protesting that Kyiv had received nowhere near that much U.S. aid and that the draft lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs.

Beyond the barbs, U.S. officials opened direct talks with the Russian side in Saudi Arabia last week, shutting out Kyiv and Europe in a stunning change of policy on the war.

Zelenskiy, who has told Europe to create its own army while urging Washington to be pragmatic, welcomed a slew of European and other leaders to a summit in Kyiv to commemorate the start in 2022 of the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

“This year should be the year of the beginning of a real, lasting peace. Putin will not gift us this peace, nor will he give it to us in exchange for anything. We have to win peace with strength, wisdom and unity - with our cooperation,” he said.

The visitors included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden.