Zelenskyy meets with bipartisan senators
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“I just finished a spirited meeting with President @ZelenskyyUa and a group of bipartisan senators in Washington to discuss our ongoing partnership with Ukraine,” Coons said.
"Excellent bipartisan meeting before President Zelensky goes to the White House. We stand with Ukraine. 🇺🇦" Klobuchar
"I was honored to join President Zelensky and Senators Coons, Graham and other Democratic and Republican senators for an hour-long discussion this morning. There is strong bipartisan support in the Senate for Ukraine's freedom and democracy," Klobuchar said.
Senator Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House, February 28, 2025, in Washington.
In a video, Graham also said that she met with Zelensky, adding that she was going to the White House to sign a mineral agreement.
"This is half a trillion dollars that will greatly benefit the American economy. Ukraine is the richest country in Europe in terms of vital mineral resources," Graham said. "These minerals are essential to compete and win in the 21st century economy.
“It’s essential. President Trump was very excited, and President Zelensky is very excited about this economic deal.”
Graham said that before he met with Trump, he had urged Zelensky to “not give in to temptation,” but he was not alone, sources told ABC News. They noted that Graham was very forthright, telling Zelensky to “suck it up a little” and thanking the president profusely.
But during the bipartisan meeting with the Ukrainian leader, senators on both sides of the chamber tried to give Zelensky “friendly coaching,” according to two people in the chamber.
While Zelensky expressed gratitude during the meeting with senators, people in the chamber said he also backed off, telling senators he needed assurances about his safety. Several senators told him to focus on the mineral deal first and then get back to security.
However, the deal now appears to be in jeopardy after a spat between Zelensky, Trump, and Vance in the Oval Office and the subsequent cancellation of the signing ceremony.
Graham, who changed his tune from his morning remarks at the White House on Friday, said, “I’ve never been more proud of the president. I’m so proud to see J.D. Vance stand up for our country.”
“What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I don’t think we’ll ever do business with Zelensky again,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) speaks with President Donald Trump (left) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2025.
“He made it hard for the American people to believe that he’s a good investor,” he added. “He either has to step down and send someone we can do business with, or he has to be replaced.”
Still, after her Oval Office spat with the Ukrainian president, especially when Vance accused Zelensky of being “disrespectful” to his American hosts, Klobuchar and Coons published posts on X in his defense.
“In response to Vance, Zelensky has repeatedly thanked our country, both privately and publicly. And our country thanks him and the Ukrainian patriots who stood up to a dictator, buried themselves, and stopped Putin from marching straight into the rest of Europe. Shame on you,” Klobuchar
"Every time I've met with President Zelensky, he has thanked the American people for their strong support for us. We thank him not for the public rebuke in the White House, but for leading a nation struggling on the front lines of democracy," Coons said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Meets With Bipartisan Senate Delegation
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