ANALYSIS: Did Trump Get an ‘Important Letter’ Before Congressional Speech? Or Just Quote Zelensky Tweet?

US President Donald Trump claimed during Tuesday’s address to Congress that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sent him a “letter” to affirm Kyiv’s readiness for a security agreement – but it appears that Zelensky made the same word-for-word statements in a social media post hours before Trump’s speech.

“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine,” Trump told lawmakers on Tuesday night before saying he would quote the “letter.”

“The letter reads: Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, he said,” stated Trump.

But in an X post shared about 12 hours earlier, Zelensky had written a long message to a public audience including those exact phrases. 

“I would like to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to peace,” Zelensky’s post began.

And identically: None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.

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Almost every word that Trump quotes from Zelensky’s “letter” were already published in the Ukrainian president’s tweet from earlier in the day. 

Trump said, quoting the “letter”: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence.

Zelensky wrote: My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.

[Omitted by Trump] We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky – ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure – and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.

We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. 

Zelensky’s “letter” and tweet again overlapped as Trump discussed the minerals and security agreement, which the US leader said was off the table last week but now appears to again be a possibility. 

Trump said, quoting the letter: Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.

Zelensky wrote earlier: Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. 

Trump added, “I appreciate that he sent this letter, I just got it a little while ago.”

He then pivoted to Russia, where he said he had been having simultaneous “serious discussion with Russia” and had “received strong signals that they are ready for peace.” 

Trump said: “Wouldn’t that be beautiful? It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars you have to talk to both sides.”

There has been no official confirmation from either the Zelensky or Trump administrations as to the origin of the quotes Trump read out to Congress on Tuesday. 

Zelensky may have sent the message to Trump in the form of a letter in addition to sharing it on social media, although the Ukrainian leader made no mention of having done so in his X post. 

Trump’s speech came after he had a confrontational meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office last week that derailed the signing of a bilateral mineral deal, followed by the US abruptly announcing a halt to all military aid to Ukraine on Monday. 

The argument between historic allies was broadcast on live TV and left the state of the American-Ukrainian partnership along with future US support for the war-torn country in question.

Zelensky made a public statement deeming the encounter “regretable” on Tuesday in an apparent effort to mend the strained trans-Atlantic relationship.

Trump has been known in the past to have great appreciation for the practice of exchanging letters. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer seemed to use this knowledge to strengthen the British relationship with Trump when he visited the White House just a few days before Zelensky last week.

“It is my pleasure to bring, from His Majesty the King, a letter… He sends his best wishes,” Starmer said, pulling a letter from inside his suit jacket.

“It’s an invitation for a second state visit – this is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented,” the British PM said emphatically.