Zelenskyy defiant over US push for $500bn deal

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is not willing to cave in to intense US pressure to sign a $500bn minerals deal and that he wants Donald Trump to be "on our side" in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

- Luke Harding

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv before the third anniversary today of Russia's full-scale invasion, Zelenskyy said he did not "recognise" the sum demanded by the White House as apparent "payback" for previous US military assistance.

He said the figure was far higher than the US's actual military contribution of $100bn and pointed out that both parties in the US Congress and the president at the time, Joe Biden, had approved the support in response to Russia's attack. It came as a "grant" rather than as "debt" to be repaid.

"I'm not signing something that 10 generations of Ukrainians are going to pay later," he said.

The press conference was held just hours after Russia had launched more strike drones into Ukraine than in any other single attack of the war.

Zelenskyy said any deal was contingent on the US administration providing security guarantees to stop Russia violating any future ceasefiresomething it has so far refused to do.

Ukraine's president also revealed the onerous financial terms that Washington was seeking to impose.

For every $1 of any future military aid Kyiv would have to pay back $2 an interest rate, Zelenskyy noted, of "100%". The same conditions were not applied to Israel, the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, he remarked, saying he had asked for an explanation but not received one.