By TOM BALMFORTH, MAX HUNDER and YULIIA DYSA Reuters
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KYIV — Ukraine hosted European leaders on Monday to mark three years of all-out war with Russia since Moscow’s invasion, while top U.S. officials stayed away in a clear illustration of President Donald Trump’s lurch towards Moscow since returning to power.

Still reeling from Trump falsely calling President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator”, Kyiv said it was in the final stages of reaching a deal with Washington to provide U.S. access to its mineral wealth.

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After meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Trump said Zelenskyy could travel to Washington this week or next to seal the minerals agreement, which he called “very close,” and suggested the war in Ukraine could end within weeks. But he did not elaborate.

“Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible, and ultimately a permanent peace,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Macron.

Macron, in a later interview with Fox News, said he believes a truce in Ukraine is feasible in the next few weeks. A U.S. minerals deal with Kyiv would be one of the best ways to ensure a commitment from Washington, he said.

Trump stopped short of saying, however, that the minerals agreement would contain the explicit U.S. security guarantees that Ukraine has sought and put the onus on Europe for the “central role” in assuring the country’s long-term security.

The minerals deal is at the heart of Kyiv’s bid to win U.S. support, but officials have negotiated in the shadow of an extraordinary war of words between Trump and Zelenskyy, who said the U.S. leader was living in a “disinformation bubble”.

Trump’s rush to impose an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine – and his seeming embrace of part of the Kremlin narrative – have stoked fears of far-reaching U.S. concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin that could undermine security in Ukraine and Europe and alter the geopolitical landscape.

Zelenskyy refused to sign an earlier draft of a minerals agreement as Washington sought rights to $500 billion in Ukraine’s natural wealth. Kyiv protested it had received far less than that in U.S. aid and the deal lacked the security guarantees Ukraine needs.