President Trump on Wednesday marveled that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have come a long way from last year’s disastrous White House meeting that blew up into battle over gratitude — and officials escorting the Kyiv leader out before a planned luncheon.
The warmth was on display during a NATO summit meeting, where Trump discussed granting Kyiv a license to manufacture its own Patriot interceptor missiles — a big gift to Zelensky.
“We’ve actually developed a good relationship! Hard to believe, right? From the Oval Office to now,” the president said at the top of his sit-down with Ukraine’s leader, later adding that he is willing to visit Ukraine “at the right time.”
There was no animosity when Trump accidentally referred to Zelensky as “President Putin” — and he quickly saved face by claiming he was soliciting questions for the Russian dictator for a call they would have later.
Trump appears to have cozied up closer to Ukraine as Russia’s war on the country has turned in Kyiv’s favor in recent months, speaking far more positively about Zelensky and his country’s fight than before.
“Everyone knows the president loves winners,” a source with knowledge of the growing relationship told The Post. “And right now, Ukraine is winning.”
Trump’s former envoy to Ukraine retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg echoed that assessment, telling The Post on Wednesday that the strengthened relationship is “because Zelensky is winning.”
“Zelensky’s putting the pressure on the Russians, and I think the President now realizes this guy, Putin — who may be a nice guy with you — but basically, he’s not winning the war.”
“People have told him Putin’s winning, he’s been thinking he’s winning — he’s not. Now Trump realizes, ‘well, maybe I’m on the wrong horse right now,’” Kellogg added.
Ukrainians are now eliminating roughly 35,000 Russian troops each month — a rate that Moscow can’t keep up with backfilling new recruits, officials have said.
“You have to say he’s courageous. He’s got great equipment, he’s got great men, he’s got fighters,” Trump said of Zelensky during NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s visit to the Oval Office two weeks ago.
That comment came in stark contrast to harsh criticism he gave last year to Kellogg, who Trump called an “idiot” for praising Zelensky as a “embattled and courageous leader.”
The striking difference in Trump’s tone has been noted by other world leaders, including Rutte, who last month told The Post reflected growing recognition of Ukraine’s recent battlefield successes against Russia.
“I think what the president also acknowledged … is that the Ukrainians are doing quite well,” Rutte said at the time.
The warming sentiment toward Ukraine appears to have even extended to Vice President JD Vance, whose demands that Zelensky say “thank you” for US assistance during the February 2025 Oval Office meeting led to the blowout.
Vance argued Monday that Russia’s offensive has largely stalled — a dynamic Kyiv hopes will strengthen Trump’s hand in pressing Moscow.
“Frankly, the Russians are in a place right now where the amount that they can get through continued [Russian] offensive operations is vanishingly small — and getting close to zero,” he told The Times of London.
“That very well may create the space that we need to bring this thing to a close,” he added.
But it’s not just all words — Trump on Wednesday followed his remarks with action, pledging he would discuss with Zelensky extending Ukraine a license to make its own life-saving Patriot interceptor missiles — something former President Joe Biden refused to do.
“A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we’ll give them the right to make Patriots,” Trump said, speaking before reporters with Zelensky.
“This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough,” he joked.
The move marks one of the biggest changes in US military support for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, continuing Trump’s shift from the US simply supplying Patriot interceptors to allowing Kyiv to manufacture one of America’s most closely guarded air-defense systems.
Ukraine will join just three other foreign countries — Japan, Germany and Poland — with a license or preliminary approval to produce the life-saving missiles.
