Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘ready to quit’ as Ukrainian President in exchange for ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he would "immediately" step down from the post in exchange for the country gaining NATO membership.

"If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready. ... I can exchange it for NATO," Zelenskyy was quoted by AFP as saying during a press conference in Kyiv.

He said he would depart "immediately" if necessary. "I can exchange this for NATO (membership), if that condition is there, immediately," the president added.

Zelenskyy also said he wanted to see US President Donald Trump as a partner to Ukraine and more than a simply a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow.

"I really want it to be more than just mediation... that's not enough," he was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Zelenskyy even refused to acknowledge that Ukraine owed the US $500 billion for the wartime aid which Washington has provided to Kyiv, a figure often cited by US President Donald Trump.

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"With all due respect, we do not acknowledge a debt of $500 billion [before the United States]. I also do not acknowledge even $100 billion. We agreed with [Joe] Biden that it was a grant! A grant is not a debt," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly said.

Earlier on Saturday, US President Donald Trump said he was trying to get money back for the billions of dollars sent to support Ukraine's war against Russia.

Donald Trump seeks elections in Ukraine

US President Donald Trump pushed for elections to take place in Ukraine, having branded Zelenskyy a "dictator", an apparent reference to the Ukrainian leader's official five-year term running out in 2024.

Zelenskyy opposed the idea of elections during a full-scale war, a position supported by his major domestic political opponents. According to Reuters, he said Ukraine could hold elections this year if the fighting ends and strong security guarantees are in place to deter Russia from renewing hostilities.

An adviser to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, gave an additional reason for holding off any election until there is peace: Russia might seek to interfere in an electoral process that would already face significant challenges.

The Ukrainian president also said he wanted to see Trump as a partner to Ukraine and more than a simply a mediator between Kyiv and Moscow.

"I really want it to be more than just mediation... that's not enough," he told a press conference in Kyiv.

The support of Ukraine’s once staunchest ally, the United States, appears to be fading as President Donald Trump echoes the narrative of Russian President Vladimir Putin while pledging to stop the fighting between the two countries.

Russia-Ukraine war

Russia had launched war against Ukraine in February 2022. Zelenskyy's statement came as Russia launched 267 drones on Ukraine overnight, a "record" since the February 2022 invasion, the Ukrainian air force said Sunday.

Among them, 138 were intercepted by air defence while 119 were "lost" without causing damage.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin hailed dialogue between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin - two "extraordinary" presidents - as "promising", and vowed it would "never" give up territory seized in eastern Ukraine. Trump's overtures to Moscow have triggered alarm in Kyiv.