Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy backed US President-elect Donald Trump’s call to end the war in Ukraine at their first meeting since the US November elections at the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on December 7.

Trump, who is famous for his transactional approach to politics, said that Zelenskiy was "keen to make a deal" with Russia following a three-way meeting with the Ukrainian president, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Zelenskyy [sic] and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness," Trump said in a post on his Truth social media platform. "There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse."

Publicly Zelenskiy welcomed the call for the end of hostilities, but reiterated calls for more Western support to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position when negotiations inevitably begin, to ensure Ukraine can win a "just peace."

"We all want peace. But it is very important for us... that the peace is just for all of us and that Russia, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or any other aggressor has no possibility of ever returning," Zelenskiy said according to the presidential website.

"And this is the most important thing – a just peace and security guarantees, strong security guarantees for Ukraine," he added.

Ukraine has been vexed by the issue of security guarantees, which will be essential to ensuring that Russia does not attack a second time, should a ceasefire deal be agreed in the New Year. The previous peace deal agreed in April 2022 in Istanbul failed because the West failed to offer Ukraine bi-lateral security deals, which were at the heart of an agreement that Russia signed off on.

The meeting of the two presidents was a chance for Zelenskiy to sound out the incoming US administration's plans for ending the war. A dozen different scenarios have been floated in recent weeks, including a plan by incoming Special Envoy for the Russo-Ukraine war Keith Kellogg that includes flooding Ukraine with US weapons if President Putin refuses to come to the negotiating table, and cutting Ukraine off completely if Zelenskiy refuses to start negotiations.

In lieu of bilateral security deals with its Western partners, Zelenskiy has been pushing for accelerated membership of Nato, but analysts say as Nato members are divided on Ukraine's membership, the chances of that happening are next to zero. Zelenskiy was at a Nato summit last week and no progress was made on the issue.

More generally, Zelenskiy was hoping to persuade Trump to continue the military and financial aid to Ukraine next year. The president thanked Trump for his "unwavering resolve" and praised the US as one of Ukraine's closest allies.

"President Trump is, as always, resolute. I thank him. I also extended my gratitude to Emmanuel [Macron] for organising this important meeting," Zelenskiy said on X. "We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way. We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground and a just peace. We agreed to continue working together and keep in contact. Peace through strength is possible."

Ukraine’s Rada signed off on the 2025 budget and has some $38bn of international commitments, including a G7 $50bn loan, the first tranches of which should arrive in the New Year, which is sufficient to fund the war next year. But the Ministry of Finance forecast that aid will start to drop off precipitously in 2026 making it difficult for Ukraine to continue to fight.

World leaders travelled to the French capital to attend the opening of the world-famous cathedral that burnt down in 2019, but has since been fully restored. The ceremony was also a chance for an informal summit of Western leaders in the face of an escalating polycrisis and a chance for the Ukrainian president to meet the incoming administration that will take over the reins on January 20.

Zelenskiy is on his back foot and desperate for fresh supplies and accelerated Nato membership as the Armed Force of Russia (AFR) have made more territorial gains in the last month than in all of 2023, when the war was at a stalemate. At the same time, desertions from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been soaring, exacerbating an already chronic lack of manpower making an early end of the war more likely in early 2025.

Trump has promised to “end the war in 24 hours” during his election campaign and is widely believed to be intending to end supplies of arms and money for Ukraine when he takes over, although there is no clarity on what his plan will be, despite multiple options being discussed publicly by members of his team.

Trump also praised the US relations with France, where Macron is facing a fresh political and budget crisis, after the French government collapsed last week. Despite tensions in Trump’s first term, he hailed French ties at their meeting, saying: "We had a great relationship as everyone knows. We accomplished a lot."

One the same day, outgoing US President Joe Biden announced a new $988mn military assistance package for Ukraine on top of another $750mn package last week.

The new package includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers, and equipment and spare parts for artillery systems, tanks and armoured vehicles, the Pentagon said, reports Reuters.

Biden has been surging military supplies to Ukraine ahead of his departure and trying to lock in more funding ahead of Trump’s promises to end support. However, a proposed $24bn in fresh funding proposed by Biden last week has already been rejected by House Speaker Mike Johnson.