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Where Kyiv–Washington ties stood on 21 February 2025
Summary
A look back at the diplomatic climate as peace talk reports from 19 February set the backdrop for 21 February 2025.
How far apart had Kyiv and Washington drifted by 21 February 2025? Reports from the preceding days suggested the gap was wide, even as Moscow and Washington moved closer.
On 19 February 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator" and said he had done a "terrible job". He also warned that Zelenskyy was "not going to have a country left" soon. The remarks came amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.
The same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised high-level talks between Russia and the United States in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He described them as a "first step" towards restoring full diplomatic ties with the United States.
Taken together, the two statements from 19 February marked the diplomatic backdrop to 21 February 2025: sharp public criticism of Ukraine's leader from Washington, and warm words from Moscow about its own channel to the U.S. administration, in the context of peace negotiations over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
