Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a hopeful tone on Thursday during a televised interview and said he believes President-elect Donald Trump could be “decisive” in ending the war as Kyiv stares down the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” Zelenskyy said according to a Reuters report. “His qualities are indeed there.
“He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin,” he added. “He is able to do this.”
Then-former President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in New York City. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Zelenskyy said Trump assured him that Kyiv would be among his first presidential visits following his inauguration later this month as Ukraine looks to stabilize the front lines.
Stopping Russian advances early in the new year is a top priority for Zelenskyy, who also reportedly claimed that Putin feared negotiations as it would be seen by the Kremlin chief as tantamount to a Russian defeat.
Despite nearly three full years of war, Russia has been unable to achieve not only its initial war aims, but even Putin’s amended plans, which he announced last year when he said his main goal is now to take all the Donbas – a region in eastern Ukraine encompassing much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
However, it is not only Putin who views potential peace negotiations with apparent trepidation.
Zelenskyy has said he welcomes peace talks, but he has also made it clear that any negotiations on ending the war will only be accepted if Ukraine is granted certain security guarantees – like the possibility of joining NATO.
Fellow soldiers carry the coffin of leading actor of the music and drama theatre Petro Velykiy, 48, who was killed in a battle with the Russian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, during a farewell ceremony in Chernyhiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)
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“Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said, though he added that Washington must take into account Kyiv’s future security.
“It cannot be otherwise,” he added. “We are Ukraine, and it’s our independence, our land and our future.”
Putin, on the other hand, has said he will not accept any cease-fire negotiations that do not include guarantees that bar Kyiv from joining the 32-member body, which under Article 5 of the alliance’s treaty says an attack on one member will trigger an attack from all NATO nations and would effectively ensure a united strike on Moscow should it once again target Ukraine.
A serviceman of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, fires a 2s5 “Hyacinth-s” self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Nov. 18, 2024. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS )
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Zelenskyy, who has led the country since 2019, was also asked if he would consider re-running for the presidency.
The Ukrainian president reiterated that the nation cannot hold elections while in a state of war under the nation’s existing constitution but said he may consider it once the conflict has ended.
“I don’t know how this war will end,” he said. “If I can do more than I am able, then I will probably view such a decision [seeking re-election] more positively. For now, this is not an objective for me.”
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Trump transition team for comment.
