Ukraine leaders 'don't have any cards' in talks - Trump

US President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of talking "tough" but of having few cards to play in negotiations to end Russia's invasion, as he continued his feud with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Trump also said it was not "very important" for Mr Zelensky to be involved in the talks, which Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to start after an ice-breaking phone call last week.

"I've had very good talks with Putin, and I've had not such good talks with Ukraine. They don't have any cards, but they play it tough," Mr Trump told a gathering of US governors at the White House.

"But we're not going to let this continue," Mr Trump added. "We have people who've got to get to the table - we've got to get that ended."

Mr Trump had already said earlier this week that Russia has "the cards" because it has seized large chunks of Ukraine's territory - further spooking Ukraine and European allies who fear he will give Mr Putin concessions for a deal.

Mr Trump is also pushing Mr Zelensky to hand the US preferential access to Ukraine's mineral deposits, insisting on a return for billions of dollars in US aid to Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky refused and complained that his country was being frozen out of talks in Saudi Arabia between Russian and US officials.

Mr Trump then erupted, calling Mr Zelensky a "dictator without elections" and blaming Ukraine for the war.

The US president continued his attacks today, saying in a radio interview with Fox News ahead of his White House remarks that Mr Zelensky's presence in the talks was not essential.

"I don't think he's very important to be in meetings," Mr Trump said. "He's been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals."

Zelensky told to 'sign that deal'

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faced pressure to sign a deal to hand the United States preferential access to Ukraine's mineral deposits following harsh criticism from US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump wants Ukraine to give US companies access as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars of aid delivered under his predecessor Joe Biden.

But Ukraine is seeking security guarantees from the United States in exchange for signing away precious rights to vast amounts of its natural resources and critical minerals.

Mike Waltz, Mr Trump's national security adviser on Friday predicted that Zelensky would sign the deal soon.

"Look, here's the bottom line, President Zelensky is going to sign that deal, and you will see that in the very short term, and that is good for Ukraine," Mr Waltz told a conference on the outskirts of Washington.

Ukraine had rejected a first attempt by Mr Trump's team to strike a deal for Ukraine's natural resources, saying the proposal did not include security guarantees for Ukraine - a move that infuriated Mr Trump.

Read more: Europe backs Zelensky but can it get a seat at talks?

Earlier, US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said he had "extensive and positive" discussions yesterday with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mr Zelensky said the meeting with Mr Kellogg "restores hope".

He said he had briefed Mr Kellogg on the frontline situation and said "strong Ukraine-US relations benefit the entire world."

Mr Kellogg said on X that he also had talks with Mr Zelensky's "talented national security team" while on his visit to the Ukrainian capital.

But in the US there was little sign Mr Trump's team was looking to dial down tensions.

Tech tycoon and Trump backer Elon Musk weighed in yesterday, claiming Ukrainians "despised" their president and that the US leader was right to leave him out of talks with Russia.

"Some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump were unacceptable," Mike Waltz said during a briefing at the White House.

In his most pointed criticism yet, Mr Zelensky earlier this week said Mr Trump had succumbed to Russian "disinformation" over the US president's repetition of debunked Kremlin talking points on the conflict.

The US president's top advisers have doubled down on their attacks on the Ukrainian leader in recent days, after Mr Trump branded him a "dictator" and claimed Ukraine had "started" the war with Russia.

The war of words has stunned Ukraine and its European allies, a sign of just how rapidly Mr Trump is overhauling the US' long-standing support for Ukraine as he opens talks with Russia on a settlement to the conflict.

The US had been Ukraine's most important financial, military and political backer since Russia invaded in February 2022, in what the West's top powers have condemned as an unprovoked and illegal war of aggression.