Zelensky now says Ukraine ‘ready’ for peace

As everyone knows, last week, Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky had a blowout on national TV.

Zelensky, after having his aid paused by Trump, is now hoping to come back to the table, saying he is ready for peace after previously saying that peace with Russia is far, far away.

Ted Cruz says checkbook is closed

The blowout with Trump gave Republicans the excuse they needed to advocate for cutting off aid to Ukraine without some serious concessions by Zelenksy.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) openly advocated for the checkbook to be closed after the meeting, stating, “It’s the reason I’ve urged President Trump, yes, you campaigned on we should end the war in Europe. Enough is enough. Stop sending money, but we want a negotiated outcome that is a clear loss for Russia. Why? Because Russia is our enemy. Putin is our enemy, and we don’t want our enemy made stronger.”

Cruz went on to say that Zelensky’s position at the time was offering an outcome that was only beneficial to Russia. He also noted that while Zelensky did not say it on camera, he has been clear that he wants certain guarantees, such as U.S. peacekeepers on the ground as well as possible NATO membership, neither of which Trump is likely to agree to.

Cruz told European nations that if they wanted to fund the war, go ahead, but “our checkbook is done.” He added, “They’re welcome to spend their money, but we’re not the welfare provider for the world and to be clear, why are we borrowing — when we’ve got $36 trillion in debt — why are we borrowing money from China to give it to other countries?”

Trump Pauses Ukraine Aid

Donald Trump lived up to Cruz’s promise, pausing the aid to Ukraine after the meeting.

The White House stated, “The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well.

“We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

This order has since been challenged in court, and Trump also brought it up during his address before a Joint Session of Congress. Democrats were clueless, as Trump was talking about funding Ukraine with no securities and no guarantees, and they all started to applaud like trained seals.

Zelensky Wants to Come Back to the Table

Trump told Zelensky right to his face that he had no leverage here, but Zelensky decided to run to EU leaders to beg for help. He got the same response from them… you need to make things better with Trump.

On Tuesday, Zelensky ate a piece of humble pie, posting, "My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts."

"We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.”

Zelensky went on to admit that the meeting did not go the way he had planned, and he wanted to make things right. That is step one. The next step would be to sign the mineral rights deal to pay back the United States for all aid that Ukraine has been given. Then be open with Trump about what he needs, realistically, so a peace deal can be negotiated with Russia.