The White House has told Volodymyr Zelensky to ‘tone down’ the criticism and ‘sign that deal’ after the Ukrainian president accused Donald Trump of falling for Russian fake news as he voiced outrage over excluding Ukraine from peace talks.

‘They need to tone it down and take a hard look and sign that deal,’ White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News, referring to a critical minerals deal with Washington for providing aid to Ukraine during the war with Russia.

His comments come as the US is refusing to co-sponsor a draft UN resolution marking three years since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that backs Kyiv’s territorial integrity and condemns Russian aggression, three diplomatic sources told Reuters.

The step appears to mirror a widening rift between Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and US President Trump, who is trying to rapidly end the war in Ukraine and whose team has held talks with Russia without the involvement of Kyiv.

The row is a major political crisis for Ukraine, which has used tens of billions of dollars of US military aid agreed under the previous US administration to weather Russia’s invasion and also benefited from diplomatic support.

A peacekeeping plan set to be introduced by Sir Keir Starmer during a Washington visit next week would see Britain and France deploy up to 30,000 troops as part of a peacekeeping force to bolster Ukraine’s security, provided the US and other NATO countries provide air cover.

Ukraine’s armed forces would patrol a demilitarised zone at the frontline, while Anglo-French troops would be stationed at key infrastructure to deter future Russian attacks, with US fighter jets and missiles on standby as a ‘backstop’.

The American backstop would be implemented to ensure ‘that ‘whatever forces are deployed will not be challenged by Russia,’ an official with knowledge of the plan told the Telegraph.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov this morning dismissed the proposal as ‘unacceptable’ after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow views the idea of having NATO member troops on the ground in Ukraine as a ‘direct threat’ to Russian security.

The White House has told Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) to ‘tone down’ the criticism and ‘sign that deal’ after the Ukrainian president accused Donald Trump of falling for Russian fake news as he voiced outrage over excluding Ukraine from peace talks 

Trump, pictured arriving at the White House last night, yesterday launched an eviscerating attack on President Zelensky

It comes after the Kremlin said earlier that it ‘absolutely’ agrees with Trump after the US president warned Zelensky to ‘move fast’ to end the conflict in Ukraine. Pictured above is Russian President Vladimir Putin

The draft resolution for the UN General Assembly, seen by Reuters, condemns Russian aggression and reaffirms a commitment ‘to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders’.

‘In previous years, the United States has consistently co-sponsored such resolutions in support of a just peace in Ukraine,’ one of the sources, who like the others requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said on Thursday.

The first diplomatic source told Reuters that the resolution was being sponsored by more than 50 countries, declining to identify them.

A spokesperson for the US diplomatic mission to the United Nations in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia has seized some 20 per cent of Ukraine and is slowly but steadily gaining territory in the east. Moscow said its ‘special military operation’ responded to an existential threat posed by Kyiv’s pursuit of NATO membership. Ukraine and the West call Russia’s action an imperialist land grab.

The United States has been a co-sponsor of almost all UN resolutions in support of Ukraine against Russia throughout the biggest conflict on European soil since World War Two.

It was not immediately clear when the deadline to back the draft resolution expires, and Washington could still change its mind.

The UN vote, seen as an important bellwether of global support for Ukraine in the face of the Trump administration seeming shift towards Russia’s position in the war, could still go ahead without US backing, but might be less likely to win broad support in the General Assembly.

A second diplomatic source who also requested anonymity said: ‘For now, the situation is they (the US) won’t sign it.’ Efforts are ongoing to seek support from other countries instead, including the Global South, the source added.

It comes after the Kremlin said earlier that it ‘absolutely’ agrees with Trump after the US president warned Zelensky to ‘move fast’ to end the conflict in Ukraine. 

Vladimir Putin earlier praised Trump for ‘changing his position’ when he ‘began to receive objective information’

‘[The Trump administration] talk about the need to establish peace as soon as possible and do it through negotiations,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. 

‘We have also already mentioned that this position is more favourable to us than the previous administration, and that here we absolutely agree with the American administration.’

Peskov went on to hit out at the Biden administration, claiming that the previous team in Washington ‘did not declare any goals to initiate a peace process’ and spoke ‘only about war.’

He also declared that any plan to send European troops to Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping mission would be unacceptable for Russia and that it was monitoring such proposals with concern. 

Moscow is likely feeling emboldened following Trump’s scathing attacks on Zelensky yesterday, in which he called the Ukrainian President a ‘terrible’ leader, ‘a modestly successful comedian’ and ‘a dictator without elections’.

In what appeared to be a thinly-veiled threat, and a shocking departure from US policy on Ukraine, the President went on to say that ‘Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.’

The extraordinary outburst came after Trump suggested yesterday that Ukraine was to blame for Moscow’s illegal invasion of the country three years ago. 

Speaking today, Peskov reiterated that relations between the US and Russia were on the path to improving and revealed that Moscow had agreed to resume dialogue with Washington on all issues regarding the war in Ukraine.

President Zelensky (R) and his wife Olena Zelenska pay tribute to the ‘Heavenly Hundred Heroes’ in central Kyiv, in memory of the fallen participants of the Maidan protests

The US and Russian delegations pictured attending the bilateral meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday

‘It was decided to start resuming Russian-American dialogue on all parameters,’ he said, after the two sides held talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

A possible new prisoner exchange between Russia and the US was on the agenda, he added, as part of Moscow and Washington’s agreement to start work on restoring relations at all levels.

As relations between Washington and Kyiv deteriorate, Kyiv’s allies have signalled their support of Zelensky, refuting Trump’s comments as false and playing into Putin’s hands.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who ran against Trump in the recent presidential elections before backing his campaign for the White House, spoke out against him on X last night.

Referring to his false remarks that Zelensky is a dictator and claims he should have held an election, despite martial law being in place, she said: ‘These are classic Russian talking points. Exactly what Putin wants.’

Last night Sir Keir Starmer telephoned president Zelensky to reiterate the UK’s support and likened him to Winston Churchill – who also did not face elections during wartime.