WASHINGTON — Sen. Lindsey Graham has doubled down on his call for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider resigning from office, insisting the leader could be standing in the way of peace.
Zelensky, 47, was steadfast in an interview with Sky News on Sunday, repeating that he would only leave office if his nation becomes a member of NATO — prompting the South Carolina Republican to knock him for suspending elections during Ukraine’s more than three-year war with Russia.
“Unfortunately, until there is an election, no one has a voice in Ukraine,” Graham, 69, posted on X in response.
Graham made similar comments last week, saying Zelensky “either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change.”
Zelensky has suspended the democratic process and imposed martial law in his country since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February 2022.
The Ukrainian leader told Sky on Sunday that Graham, known as an outspoken hawk against Russia, is “a very good guy” who fights for “democratic values.” But Zelensky added that the GOPer’s opinions about his leadership won’t matter until Graham becomes “a citizen of our country.
“It seems, to me, a bit undemocratic and unconstructive,” he said of calls for him to resign.
“To change me [out] it will not be easy because it is not enough to simply hold elections,” Zelensky said. “You would need to prevent me from participating in the election [because of war duties], and it will be a bit more difficult.”
France and the UK have recently taken the lead on peace negotiations in the Ukraine-Russia war, while US officials have tethered their support to the signing of a rare-earth minerals deal involving an American joint economic investment with Kyiv.
On Friday, Graham had been standing in the wings to celebrate the signing of the deal before it was unexpectedly scrapped amid a cringe-worthy public spat involving Zelensky, Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office. Graham emerged from the White House to excoriate Zelensky to members of the press.
“What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful, and I don’t know if we could ever do business with Zelensky again,” he told reporters. “I think most Americans saw a guy that they would not want to go in business with, the way he handled the meeting.”
Zelensky posted Saturday on social media that he remained open to signing the agreement, which would let the US have a joint stake in proceeds from Ukraine’s lucrative rare-earth minerals.
Other Trump cabinet officials such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have noted that the Ukrainian president has ground the dealmaking to a halt several times — and Graham added Friday that the “terrible” negotiations have “made it almost impossible to sell to the American people that he’s a good investment.”
The Ukrainian president said Sunday that his team is still in communication with the White House over a potential deal.
Trump and Vance had pushed back in front of the millions of viewers, with TV cameras capturing the moment in the Oval Office, as Zelensky put the terms of the minerals agreement to the side to discuss whether diplomatic engagement would be enough to halt Putin.
“You’re gambling with World War III,” Trump erupted. “And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should.”
Zelensky, responding to Trump’s and Vance’s verbal attacks, insisted, “Yes, of course I want to stop the war.
“But as I’ve said to you, with guarantees. Ask our people about the cease-fire, what do they think?”
Trump, 78, had lashed out at Zelensky in the days before, calling his Ukrainian counterpart a “dictator without elections.”
