Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is not playing political games with his American counterpart Donald Trump and seeks to be open and direct in his relations with him. "As between friends, as in family, you need to be honest, not to play games. I don't play games with Trump. I am direct, honest," Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News, quoted by Ukrinform.
According to him, Ukraine is ready to end the war as soon as possible, including by freezing fighting on the current front line. However, Kiev is not ready to cede additional territories as a condition for ending the conflict.
Zelensky pointed out that Russia controls over 19% of the territory of Donbas. He did not specify in the interview which specific areas a possible freeze on the front would cover, but stressed that territorial concessions are not an acceptable option for Ukraine.
Criticism of American aid
The Ukrainian president said he did not feel betrayed by the United States, but expressed regret over the limited volume of American military aid. "I feel what I feel. This is not support," he said.
Zelensky reported that over the past three months, Ukraine has received only 24 interceptor missiles for the "Patriot" systems from the United States. According to him, the country's needs are significantly greater. In just one night, 30 ballistic missiles were fired at Kiev, and the number needed for missile defense is an average of 350 interceptors per month.
Despite the criticism, Zelensky said he remained grateful to the United States for its partnership in confronting Russian aggression. He admitted that he did not always behave politely, but explained his behavior by the need to firmly defend Ukrainian interests.
Trump-Putin Relations
Zelensky said he did not know why relations between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had warmed up. He described the US president's decision to maintain personal relations with the Russian leader as his own choice.
„I do not know whether this is right or not, because this is his personal decision — whether to be friends with Putin or not“, Zelensky said.The Ukrainian president added that in his opinion the relationship between Trump and Putin is “quite good“. Asked whether Putin had asked Trump to stop intelligence sharing between the United States and Ukraine, Zelensky said he did not know. He expressed hope that this had not happened.
“There cannot be a weak president in Ukraine now“, Zelensky said. According to him, the country needs a firm position while it continues to look for a way to end the war without new territorial concessions.
Sources: ukrinform.ua