Zelensky offers to resign in exchange for Ukrainian NATO membership

　　Kyiv: Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday -- the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's invasion -- that he was ready to quit as Ukraine's president if it meant Kyiv would be admitted to the NATO military alliance.

　　Zelensky has faced fierce criticism from the new US administration and said he wantss to meet Donald Trump before the US president meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

　　Zelensky has been calling for Ukraine to be given NATO membership as part of any deal to end the war, but the Washington-led alliance has been reluctant to make a pledge.

　　“如果乌克兰实现和平，如果你们真的需要我离开我的岗位，我已经准备好了. ...泽连斯基在基辅的新闻发布会上说：“我可以用北约来交换它。”他补充说，如果有必要，他将“立即”离开。自美国和俄罗斯官员上周在沙特阿拉伯举行三年来首次高层会谈以来，泽伦斯基和特朗普一直在进行口水战。此举动摇了西方孤立克里姆林宫的政策，并激怒了乌克兰和欧洲领导人，因为他们没有受到邀请。在过去一周的一系列口头攻击中，特朗普将泽伦斯基称为“独裁者”，错误地声称乌克兰“挑起”了战争，并表示，与独立民意调查相反，泽伦斯基在国内不受欢迎。泽伦斯基说，他并没有被特朗普的言论“冒犯”，他准备在乌克兰结束戒严令后，在选举中检验自己的受欢迎程度。泽伦斯基在新闻发布会上说：“如果他是一个独裁者，人们会被‘独裁者’这个词所冒犯。”“我非常希望特朗普能理解彼此，”他说，并补充说美国总统的“安全保证”是“非常需要的”。这位乌克兰领导人还呼吁特朗普在与普京举行峰会之前与他会面。他还表示，一项让美国优先获得乌克兰关键资源的协议取得了“进展”。早些时候，克里姆林宫称赞特朗普和弗拉基米尔·普京之间的对话“有希望”——发言人德米特里·佩斯科夫称两位“非凡”总统——“有希望”。克里姆林宫发言人德米特里?佩斯科夫（Dmitry Peskov）对国家电视台表示：“重要的是，没有什么能阻止我们实现两国元首的政治意愿。”尽管泽伦斯基推动长期安全援助，特朗普也在谈论和平协议，但目前尚不清楚美国的举动是否能让莫斯科和基辅更接近休战。佩斯科夫排除了任何领土让步作为解决方案的一部分，莫斯科一再拒绝乌克兰加入北约。“很早以前，乌克兰人民就决定加入俄罗斯，”佩斯科夫说。他指的是莫斯科在进攻期间在乌克兰东部举行的投票。“没有人会卖掉这些领土。这是最重要的，”他说。与此同时，联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯星期天呼吁乌克兰达成一项尊重该国“领土完整”的和平协议。“上帝的旨意”

　　Putin, in his own comments on the eve of the anniversary of his "special military operation" on Ukraine, said "God" and "fate" were behind his "mission" to defend Russia.

　　"Fate willed it so, God willed it so, if I may say so. A mission as difficult as it is honourable -- defending Russia -- has been placed on our and your shoulders together," he told

　　servicemen who have fought in Ukraine.

　　"Today, at the risk of their lives and with courage, they are resolutely defending their homeland, national interests and Russia's future," Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin.

　　Moscow's army launched a record 267 attack drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv's air force said.

　　Ukraine shot down or intercepted almost all of them, and there were no reports of major damage.

　　As its troops advance on the battlefield and it continues massive aerial attacks, Russia has revelled in the diplomat spat between Trump and Zelensky.

　　"Zelensky makes inappropriate remarks addressed to the head of state. He does it repeatedly," Peskov said.

　　"No president would tolerate that kind of treatment. So his (Trump's) reaction is completely quite understandable."

　　Russia's TASS news agency reported that US and Russian diplomats would meet in the next week, a follow-up to Riyadh talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

　　Scrambling to respond to Trump's dramatic policy reversal, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Washington this week to make the case for supporting Ukraine.