Amid heaping pressure from US, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal on Tuesday said that Kyiv can sign minerals deal with the Washington “anytime”. He asserted that Ukraine “will do everything” to withstand the Russian invasion despite Donald Trump’s decision to halt US military aid.
“We are ready to start this cooperation with the United States at any time by signing such an agreement,” Shmygal said at a press conference.
His statement follows Trump’s announcement of suspending military aid to Ukraine. Shmygal said that security guarantees from US were of existential importance for both Ukraine and Europe.
“We need and ask for concrete security guarantees, both from the United States of America and from Europe and from the G7 countries. This is existentially important not only for Ukraine, but also for the European Union, for the European continent,” he said.
Trump’s move of suspending aid to Ukraine comes days after a fiery showdown between him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Reacting to Trump’s decision, Kremlin called it “best contribution” to peace. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted that it was a “solution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process”.