The world leaders also condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Zelensky and Trump’s meeting at the Oval Office on Friday, with US Vice President JD Vance also in attendance ended in a deadlock.

Discussions at the meeting generated heated arguments as the two leaders debated the future of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tensions escalated when the leaders clashed over a minerals deal that would grant the US extensive access to Ukraine’s rare earth resources in exchange for Washington’s continued support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia.

Zelensky insisted that any agreement must include genuine security guarantees for Ukraine, a demand that Trump resisted.

The press conference turned confrontational when Vance accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful,” pointedly asking, “Have you said ‘thank you’ once?”

The meeting concluded abruptly, with Zelensky and his delegation being escorted out of the White House.

Shortly after the meeting, Zelensky took to X to express gratitude to Trump, the US Congress, and Americans for their support.

“Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that,” he wrote.

In an interview with Fox News, Zelensky was asked if he would apologise to Trump. While he declined to elaborate, he acknowledged the public fallout, saying it was “not good for both sides.”

“I’m not sure that we did something bad,” he added. “I cannot change the Ukrainian attitude towards Russia. They are killers for us.”

However, when asked if his relationship with Trump could still be salvaged, Zelensky responded affirmatively.

On Saturday, he posted again on social media, saying, “It is very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after. It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world.”

ollowing the event, leaders from various parts of the world took to social media, issuing statements on their X handles in support of Ukraine and criticising Russia’s continued aggression.

Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, condemned Russia for its “illegal and unjustifiable invasion” of Ukraine.

“For three years now, Ukrainians have fought with courage and resilience. Their fight for democracy, freedom, and sovereignty is a fight that matters to us all. Canada will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace,” Trudeau wrote.

Also, French President Emmanuel Macron criticised Russia’s actions and defended the sanctions imposed three years ago.

“Thanks to all those who helped and continue. And respect to those who, since the beginning, have been fighting. Because they are fighting for their dignity, their independence, for their children, and for the security of Europe,” Macron stated.

Similarly, Slovenian President Nataša Musar denounced Russia’s aggression and commented on the Oval Office meeting.

What we witnessed in the Oval Office undermines these values and the foundations of diplomacy. We stand firmly in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty. We repeat, Russia is the aggressor,” Musar wrote.

Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, reiterated Europe’s backing for Ukraine.

“Russia is the aggressor, and therefore Europe supports Ukraine‘s efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace,” he stated.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs also expressed solidarity with Ukraine.

“Ukraine is a victim of Russian aggression. It fights the war with help from many friends and partners,” he posted.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb highlighted Ukraine’s struggle for survival.

He wrote, “The heroic fight of Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression is about the existence of Ukraine as a nation. We in Finland understand what Ukraine is going through. Ukraine is fighting not only for her independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

Similarly, Montenegrin President, Jakov Milatovic and Slovak Republic’s fifth President Zuzana Čaputová also expressed support for Ukraine, with Čaputová stating, “The people of Ukraine are defending their right to live. It’s that simple. They deserve all the support they can get to defend this right and to live and prosper as a sovereign nation living in peace.”

Several other world leaders echoed similar sentiments in their tweets, reaffirming their backing for Ukraine.

“Protest! Fight! Run away! Or become Ukrainian prisoners of war! Those are the options for your survival,” Zelensky said in his daily video address.

He said 55,000 Russian soldiers had already died in Ukraine.

Zelensky also appealed to mothers and wives of Russian men called up for service.

Do not doubt this, the children of your country’s leaders will not take part in the war against Ukraine.

Putin’s soldiers have been linked to a string of horrific atrocities across Ukraine, including the brutal rape and murder of women and children, often in front of their own family members. Moscow has denied the claims.

Speaking to Lithuanian lawmakers today, Zelensky said: ‘In areas freed from the occupiers, the recording and investigation of war crimes committed by Russia continues. New mass graves are found almost daily.

‘Testimonials are being collected. Thousands and thousands of victims. Hundreds of cases of torture. Bodies continue to be found in drains and cellars.

‘Hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded, including those of young girls and very young children. Even of a baby!’

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda responded saying, ‘It’s simply impossible to imagine a greater horror.’

Kateryna Cherepakha, president of La Strada-Ukraine, said her organisation’s emergency hotlines had received calls accusing Russian soldiers of nine cases of rape involving 12 women and girls.

She told the UN: ‘This is just the tip of the iceberg. We know and see – and we want you to hear our voices – that violence and rape is used now as a weapon of war by Russian invaders in Ukraine.

An 11-year-old boy is among the alleged victims after he was reportedly raped by Russian troops in front of his mother who was tied to a chair and forced to watch.

Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova said the boy was attacked in Bucha where scores of dead civilians showing signs of torture were found weeks after it was recaptured.

Denisova also claimed that five soldiers in Putin’s army raped a 14-year-old girl who has become pregnant.  She said an estimated 120,000 Ukrainian children were rounded up and kidnapped, with some raped and others smuggled over to Russia.

On April 8, a 16-year-old girl and 78-year-old woman were among those raped, official Oleksandr Vilkul claimed.

Meanwhile, one of Putin’s soldiers has been arrested after footage emerged of him allegedly raping a baby in Ukraine.

Alexei Bychkov, 24, sent the vile footage to a Russian comrade before he was detained on Saturday, it was reported.

The soldier is said to have shared other videos of his abuse of children to other friends and colleagues.

Elsewhere in Bucha, 25 girls and woman aged 14 to 25 were ‘systematically’ raped while being held captive in a basement, it has been claimed. Nine of the women are now pregnant.

Denisova said: ‘Russian soldiers told them they would rape them to the point where they wouldn’t want sexual contact with any man, to prevent them from having Ukrainian children.’

Meanwhile, a 50-year-old woman who lives 45 miles from Kyiv said a Chechen soldier barged into the home she shared with her husband on March 7.

She told the BBC: ‘At gunpoint, he took me to a house nearby. He ordered me: ‘Take your clothes off or I’ll shoot you.’ He kept threatening to kill me if I didn’t do as he said. Then he started raping me.

‘While he was raping me, four more soldiers entered. I thought that I was done for. But they took him away. I never saw him again.’

“They are very difficult, sometimes scandalous but we are moving forward step by step,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukrainian representatives were negotiating every day. We will work, we will fight as much as possible. Until the end, brave and open.The negotiators are working tirelessly, we can rest when we’ve won,” he added.

He hoped that three summits planned for this week by the G7, NATO and the EU will lead to additional support.

Zelensky expected new sanctions against Russia and new aid for Ukraine.

Both Ukraine and Russia claimed successes on the battlefield on Tuesday.

Almost one month ago Moscow invaded its western neighbor in a war that had already claimed thousands of lives and propelled millions to seek safety elsewhere.

Zelensky thanked the international community for supporting his country.

A group of Russian saboteurs led by a secret service agent was arrested in the city of Uzhhorod in the border area between Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary, Ukraine’s UNIAN news agency reported.

The group of some 25 men was reportedly also tasked with carrying out acts of sabotage in the government quarter in Ukraine and in other parts of the country.

The men were reportedly planning to masquerade as members of the Ukrainian armed forces in order to make their way to the Ukrainian capital.

The report, however, could not be verified independently.

The Ukrainian government claims that since the beginning of the war, Russian spy squads have tried to get to Kiev and eliminate Zelensky several times to no avail.

On March 2, 2022, a unit of elite Chechen special forces, known as Kadyrovites, purportedly on the secret mission to assassinate Zelensky, were intercepted and eliminated on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Ukraine’s Secretary of National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, had, during a broadcast marathon airing on Ukrainian TV channels confirmed the foiled covert operation.

He said the Ukrainian intelligence acted on a tip-off from ‘fifth columnists’ within the Kremlin, who did not subscribe to the bloody war.

Meanwhile, Zelensky has called on his country’s people to keep up the fight against Russian troops in the face of increasing violence against civilians.

In a video message on Monday, Zelensky appealed to Ukrainians to do everything possible to safeguard their country, saying invaders must be expelled, in order to ensure the restoration of peace and safety of the Ukrainian people.

He referred to the Russian military as “tourists with tanks” and “slaves to their propaganda, which has changed their consciousness”.

The prime ministers, who arrived by train, sat round a table with their Ukrainian counterpart Denis Shmyhal and the Ukrainian President, who detailed the situation to them.

“They are shelling everywhere. Not only Kyiv but also the western areas,” Zelensky told the prime ministers

“We have to halt this tragedy unfolding in the East as quickly as possible,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a post on Facebook announcing their arrival

Ukraine had the “unequivocal support” of the European Union, he added.

Shmyhal earlier confirmed their arrival in a post on Twitter, saluting the courage of true friends of Ukraine.

He said their talks would focus on support for Ukraine and “strengthening sanctions against the Russian aggression”.

Morawiecki, Czech premier Petr Fiala and Slovenia’s Prime Minister Janez Jansa, were visiting as “representatives of the European Union,” as said in an early statement from the Polish government.

The visit came as Russia’s pummels were targeted across Ukraine including Kyiv, which had nearly been encircled by Moscow’s troops, and as Russia and Ukraine were due to resume talks to end the nearly three-week war.

“In such crucial times for the world, it is our duty to be in the place where history is being made,” Morawiecki said in a Facebook post, earlier on Tuesday.

“Because this is not about us, it is about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny,” he said.

The government statement said that the visit had been organised “in agreement” with European Council chief Charles Michel and European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen.

“The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine and to present a broad package of support for the Ukrainian state and society,” the statement said.

The trio was accompanied by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of Poland’s populist right-wing Law and Justice party.

More than 100 civilians have already died in Russia’s war in Ukraine, while more than 300 bystanders were injured, the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said.

At least seven children were also counted among the dead.

The Ukrainian government said the civilians’ death toll so far stood at more than 150.

Russia has rejected the idea that its advancing troops posed a threat to civilians as the invasion of Ukraine near the end of its fifth day on Monday.

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, earlier said there were credible accounts of residential buildings, critical civilian infrastructure, and other non-military targets sustaining heavy damage, calling civilian deaths “totally unacceptable.”

“A state that commits war crimes against civilians cannot be a member of the UN Security Council,” Zelensky said in a video message.

Zelensky said this in a plea for Moscow to be excluded from the UN council where it is a permanent veto-holding member.

“This is Ukraine here. This is Europe. This is the year 2022.

“The evil armed with missiles, bombs, and artillery must be stopped immediately. Economically destroyed. To show that humanity can defend itself,” he said.

He urged the international community to consider completely blocking airspace for Russian missiles, planes and helicopters.

The U.S. government, however, rejected calls to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, saying it would be a step towards a direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

Zelensky also said Ukraine had not yet achieved the desired result at peace talks between a Ukrainian and a Russian delegation on Monday.

“Russia has presented its positions, counter-arguments have been made by us to end the war,” Zelensky explained.

Zelensky in a video message posted on his Facebook page also said other states were “afraid” to support Ukraine’s accession to NATO.

The country’s Interior Ministry of Defense also announced on Thursday that all Ukrainian men ages 18 through 60 will be barred from leaving the country.

The message reads: “The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports that due to the imposition of martial law in Ukraine, the departure of a certain category of citizens from Ukraine is temporarily restricted.In particular, male citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine.Such a rule will apply for the period of martial law. We ask citizens to take this information into account.”

This follows the Ukrainian government’s decision to give firearms to any citizens who wants to fight Russian troops.

The

President Volodymyr Zelensky watched troops training with some of their new Western-supplied anti-tank weapons on a range near Rivne, west of the capital.

Then he travelled to the frontline port city of Mariupol, and gave a speech to mark what he had declared Ukraine’s “Day of Unity”, wearing a military-style olive green coat and vowing resistance.

“We are not afraid of forecasts, we are not afraid of anyone, of any enemies,” Zelensky said. “We will defend ourselves.”

The demonstration of Ukrainian firepower and rhetoric contrasted with images on Russian state media that were said to show Moscow’s forces bringing an end to a major exercise in occupied Crimea.

But Zelensky denied that this was a sign of a Russian pullback.

“We are seeing small rotations. I would not call these rotations the withdrawal of forces by Russia. We cannot say that,” he said in televised comments, adding: “We see no change.”

In Rivne, missiles pounded targets and armoured vehicles manoeuvred and fired on the yellowing moorland, while in Kyiv hundreds of civilians marched in a stadium with an enormous national banner.

The “Day of Unity” displays came as the Kremlin called for “serious negotiations” with Washington, and European leaders pushed hard for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.

But NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who hosted a meeting of the alliance’s defence ministers in Brussels, dismissed suggestions that the threat on the border had diminished.

He said the alliance would shore up its eastern defences with forward deployments in member states bordering Ukraine.

“Moscow has made it clear that it is prepared to contest the fundamental principles that have underpinned our security for decades and to do so by using force,” he said.

“I regret to say that this is the new normal in Europe.”

And on reported Russian troop movements, he said: “So far we do not see any sign of de-escalation on the ground; no withdrawals of troops or equipment.

He amassed more than 70% of the total votes dominating the first round of voting close to a month ago when there were 39 candidates on the presidential chase.

However, the incumbent president, Mr Poroshenko has admitted that he has lost but has said that he’s not leaving politics anytime soon.

The Ukrainian president holds significant powers over various areas of the country. Over security, defence and also the foreign policy of the country.

Mr Zelensky told reporters on Sunday, “I will never let you down.”

He also added, “While I am not formally president yet, as a citizen of Ukraine I can tell all post-Soviet countries: Look at us! Everything is possible!”

He will be on a five-year term if the polls turn out correct.

However, the exit polls gave Mr Poroshenko 25% of the vote. He has been in power since 2014.

He was elected after he overthrew the previous pro-Russian government.

Mr Zelensky, aged 41, is popular in a satirical drama where his character becomes Ukrainian president.

And even without prior political experience, and rather than on any concrete policy ideas, his campaign strength focused on his difference to other candidates.