Protesters voiced dismay at Trump's decision to pause military support to Ukraine. Trump read a letter from Zelenskyy, who expressed readiness to negotiate peace.
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Demonstrators gathered at a pro-Ukraine rally near the Capitol building in Washington on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump delivered his second term's first State of the Union address.
The protesters voiced their dismay at Trump's statements and the decision to pause US military support to Ukraine.
During his speech, Trump read a letter from Ukraine's President Vlodymyr Zelenskyy, and said that "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer".
After last week’s disastrous meeting at the White House, Trump said Zelenskyy had told him that Ukraine is ready to negotiate a peace deal with Russia as soon as possible and would accept a critical rare earth minerals agreement with the US to facilitate that.
Although Trump said he “appreciated” getting the letter, he did not say if it would affect his policy toward Ukraine, which on Monday was dominated by his decision to pause military aid to the country.
Trump’s remarks came after US Vice President JD Vance, who was a major player in the breakdown between the president and Zelenskyy on Friday, struck a new nerve with allies by offering skeptical comments about a potential international security force for post-war Ukraine proposed by the UK and France.
Leaders in Europe say their support remains steadfast. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that "Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending, both to respond to the short-term urgency to act and to support Ukraine, but also to address the long-term need to take on more responsibility for our own European security."
Von der Leyen announced a defence fund that would amount to €800 billion ahead of an emergency European Union leaders' meeting on Thursday to discuss the details.
Earlier Tuesday, Vance had claimed the minerals deal would be a more practical deterrent against Russian President Vladimir Putin than a peacekeeping force for post-war Ukraine that includes “some random country”.
The Trump administration has been making the case that tightening US-Ukraine economic ties through an agreement that gives the US access to valuable mineral deposits in the eastern European country will provide Russia pause about taking malign action against Ukraine in the future.