Ukraine ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko is thankful for New Zealand’s ongoing support after a disastrous Trump-Zelensky meeting threatened a US-brokered peace effort.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon issued a statement in support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, hours after a meeting between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump spectacularly blew up, ending for now the prospect of a Trump-led peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to New Zealand, said in an interview he was thankful for the “outburst of support” from New Zealand.
“At this stage, it already means a lot to us ... [the] people of New Zealand are reacting, this is what is prompting governments to react.”
He said Ukraine wanted peace more than any other country, but “no security guarantee for Ukraine is possible without American commitment”.
“It’s all about how we can force Russia to stop, because we can end this war in 24 hours. Excuse my language: Putin needs to get the f... out of Ukraine ... it will be the end of war.
“But even if it doesn’t and we get some sort of ceasefire ... we need to get the security guarantees.
“We all depend on the US defence umbrella - the free world - and that was American leadership which has provided that the stability for a long period of time, and now Russia is dismantling that.
“A truce will welcome another aggression just four years from now, when Trump is gone and Putin will resupply.”
Professor David Capie, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University, said it was a “truly astonishing” meeting between Trump and Zelensky.
“To have a US president seemingly take a position that’s so close to the Russians was just quite, quite remarkable.”
Zelensky visited the White House on Saturday morning NZ Time for the expected signing of a minerals deal with Trump, a critical step towards Trump’s intended peace after three years of Ukraine fighting a Russian invasion.
But the meeting spectacularly blew up as Zelensky mentioned Russia’s transgressions of prior ceasefires. Before the White House press pack, Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticised Zelensky, claiming he was disrespectful and not thankful enough for US support.
“You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there, your people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers,” Trump said.
“You’re either going to make a deal or we’re out. And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out. I don’t think it’s going to be pretty, but you’ll fight it out.”
Luxon echoed statements of support from European, Canadian, and Australian leaders in the hours afterwards.
“New Zealand remains steadfast in its support for Ukraine as it defends itself in a war that Russia started. It’s mounting the defence of a proud, democratic, sovereign nation, but also the defence of international law,” he said.
“The best route to peace is for Russia to cease its three-year long illegal and immoral war of aggression. We all want the US and Ukraine working together towards the shared objective of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.”
New Zealand has provided about $130 million in support for Ukraine, and the New Zealand army continues to train Ukrainian troops in Europe. A week ago, on the third anniversary of the war, the Government announced a further $3m would be sent to a World Bank Ukraine relief fund.
Luxon’s statement was responded to by Zelensky on X, formerly Twitter: “Thank you for your support.”
Capie said the “big question” was whether the relationship between the US and Ukraine could be repaired to achieve peace. However, Zelensky seemed unwilling to accept a ceasefire without security guarantees from the US, which Trump was pushing for.
“A worst-case scenario is you have the US essentially decide to walk away and say to the Europeans, ‘Well, you can do it’. Or the Ukrainians have to fight by themselves.
“The problem is, even with all the will in the world, there are some capabilities that the Europeans can’t just simply provide overnight.”
He said most important for New Zealand was to clearly restate support for Ukraine, as Luxon had done.
New Zealand would always be a “small player” in material contribution but “finding ways to make sure that continues” would be meaningful, he said.
Otago University international relations professor Robert Patman said New Zealand should be looking “at everything” to support Ukraine. “It’s absolutely imperative.”
He said the meeting was a disaster for the United States; “both immoral and strategically counterproductive”.
“The Luxon Government, at the moment, is facing multiple demands for money on various fronts for funds. But I do think we have to end two decades of under investment in the defence sector.”
Alongside this, New Zealand could forget about its interest in joining the second pillar of the Aukus defence agreement, as Trump had demonstrated it did not share New Zealand’s values.
“What occurred is the weakness and the lack of discipline displayed by Trump and Vance ... they held Ukraine responsible for Putin’s invasion. That took US foreign policy to a new low.”
He said it was troubling the US, the most powerful country in the world, would not make “the simple and obvious demand” of Putin - withdraw your troops from Ukraine.
