Seven days that make clear peace is still a long way offpublished at 07:05 Greenwich Mean Time
Daniel Wittenberg
Reporting from Brussels
Image source, ReutersIt has been a bruising, emotional, and relentless seven days for Ukraine’s under-pressure wartime leader.
This time last week, Volodymyr Zelensky was on his way to Washington DC, expecting to sign a landmark minerals deal with the United States and hoping to persuade Donald Trump to back Ukraine with security guarantees.
Instead, the meeting erupted into a full-blown confrontation.
I was inside the Oval Office as tensions boiled over – Zelensky looked frustrated, perhaps a little tired, as he clashed with an angry Trump and Vice-President JD Vance in a showdown that sent diplomatic shockwaves.
Since then, Zelensky and his advisers have been in overdrive.
Their next stop – London – was brought forward. He was welcomed with literal open arms by Keir Starmer on Downing Street and headed for a fireside audience with the King at his Sandringham home, as well as attending a planned summit of European leaders.
Back in Kyiv, Zelensky hit the phones, making more than a dozen calls to world leaders. But not to Trump.
Instead, Zelensky penned a letter to the US president, stressing Ukraine’s willingness to negotiate for peace, while posting on social media that their White House clash was “regrettable”.
Then it was back on the move: an overnight train out of Ukraine and a flight to Brussels, where we’re reporting from today, as he joins EU talks on ramping up defence.
Plenty of airmiles, countless conversations – but a long way still to go before peace.
