Zelensky says Ukraine-Russia war will ‘end sooner’ with Trump as president
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is sure the war with Russia will end “sooner” than if Donald Trump takes office as US president.
Zelensky said he had a “constructive exchange” with Trump during a phone conversation after Trump won the US presidential election.
He did not say whether Trump had made any demands regarding possible talks with Russia, but said he had heard nothing from Trump contrary to Ukraine’s position.
Trump has always said his priority is to end the war – which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – and what he says is a drain on U.S. resources in the form of military aid to Kyiv .
Earlier this year, US House of Representatives approves military aid package worth $61bn (£49bn).
The United States has been Ukraine’s largest arms supplier. Figures from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organization, show that China delivered or promised to deliver weapons and equipment worth $55.5 billion (£41.5 billion) from the start of the war to its end in June 2024.
But at home, support for arming Ukraine appears to have waned since the war began, especially among the Republican voters Trump has successfully courted.
During the US campaign, the former president-elect repeatedly promised to end the war “in one day” but has yet to reveal how he plans to do so.
“What is certain is that with the policies of the team now leading the White House, the war will end faster. This is their approach and their commitment to the citizens.” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media Suspilne.
He added that Ukraine “must do everything possible to bring this war to an end next year, to end it diplomatically” while Russian forces make gains on the battlefield.
The war front has been largely at a standstill since Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive in 2023 failed to achieve the full territorial gains it expected.
Russian troops hold strongholds in the east and southeast of the country, with fighting taking place mainly in the eastern Donbass region.
The Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington said Russian troops were advancing gradually along the eastern front on Friday, with heavy fighting taking place around the northeastern city of Kupyansk and southeastern Vukhledar. DC based think tank.
ISW cited Ukrainian military sources in the region as saying that Russian infantry also continued to launch a “limited” offensive from the Russian border into the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
In an apparent effort to stop Russia’s offensive, the Ukrainian army launched a breakout offensive into Russia’s Kursk region this summer, becoming the first army to occupy Russian territory since World War II.
Zelensky said the goal of the operation was to divert Russian troops from the front lines in Ukraine, Although it is unclear whether it achieves this goal. Russia has been able to recruit hundreds of thousands of conscripts to bolster its ranks, while Ukraine’s much smaller army relies on advanced weapons provided by the West.
But analysts say the territory Ukraine holds in Kursk could become a bargaining chip in any peace talks. Zelensky’s “Victory Plan”, revealed last monthstated that the offensive will continue to avoid establishing a “buffer zone” in Ukraine.
Amid renewed emphasis on diplomatic solutions concerns about growing war fatigueboth in Ukraine and abroad.
However, what such a solution might look like remains unclear – Zelensky has refused to give up any Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014.
Trump and Zelensky have long had a rocky relationship. Trump was impeached in 2019 over accusations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up damaging information about U.S. President Joe Biden’s family.
Despite years of disagreements, Trump insists he has a great relationship with Zelensky.
When the two met in New York in September, Trump said he “learned a lot” from the meeting and said he would resolve the war “very soon.”
His Democratic opponents accuse him of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and say his approach to the war amounts to a surrender to Ukraine that would endanger all of Europe.
Earlier this week, Russia Denies reports of Putin-Trump phone call Days after the latter won the election, the president-elect was said to have warned against further escalation of the conflict.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke to Trump after the US election, told German media that the incoming US leader’s stance on the war was “more nuanced” than is often assumed.
German leader is Zelensky criticizes Putin during phone call – for the first time in nearly two years – Friday. While Scholz’s office said he reiterated his call for an end to the war, Zelensky said it undermined the Russian leader’s sense of isolation.
