Zelensky will resign if it brings peace to Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently found himself at the center of Donald Trump’s ire, complicating U.S. relations with his beleaguered nation. Despite the challenges, Zelensky remains committed to making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.

During his address at the ‘Ukraine: Year 2025’ forum, Zelensky announced his willingness to resign as President if it meant achieving peace and securing NATO membership for Ukraine.

"If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that. And I also can exchange it for Nato membership for Ukraine," Zelensky said while responding to questions at a press conference according to a translation from BBC News. 

Zelensky’s remarks followed a recent criticism from Trump that saw the U.S. President call Zelensky a dictator who wasn’t holding elections and claimed that he did not have the support of the Ukrainian people on Truth Social. 

“He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote. 

“I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered,” Trump also wrote. “MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues….” he concluded. 

Trump’s comments set off a slew of criticism from Ukraine’s allies and even members of the Republican Party. However, Zelensky remained quiet about Trump’s angry outbursts and he explained why while answering questions at ‘Ukraine: Year 2025’.

Zelensky said his approach to dealing with the Trump administration was “pragmatic” according to CNN reporting. “There is no space for emotions here,” he also said. This would explain why Zelensky hasn’t pushed back publicly against Trump’s comments. 

“Obviously, I would not say President Trump’s words about me are compliments, to say the least,” Zelensky explained. However, he also pointed out that he does not want to be President for any longer than is needed. 

“I am focusing on security today and not in 20 years time. I don’t plan to be in power for 10 years,” Zelensky told the forum according to The Kyiv Independent. Whatever Trump may think of Zelensky, it's clear he does have the support of his people. 

While speaking at a Mar-a-Lago press conference after American negotiators met with Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, Trump falsely claimed that Zelensky only had a 4% approval rating.

"We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, where the leader in Ukraine, I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval rating," Trump stated according to a quote of his comments published by Euronews. 

It is important to note that Ukraine has repeatedly said that it would not hold elections until the war with Russia was over, something that The Kyiv Independent reported was in line with martial law in Ukraine.

According to polling conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) from the 4th to the 9th of February, 57% of Ukrainians supported Zelensky. 

In another recent poll from KISS and in partnership with the Identity and Borders in Flux: The Case of Ukraine (IBIF) project, Zelensky’s approval rating had risen to 63%. Many Americans also wouldn’t agree with Trump that Zelensky is a dictator. 

According to a poll published by YouGov on February 19th, 4,071 when Americans were asked if they thought that Zelensky was a dictator, 22% said yes, 45% said no, and 33% said that they didn’t know.

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