Zelensky Calls B.S. on Trump’s Claim He’d End War with Russia in a Day
Donald Trump has boasted that if he were president again, he could end Russia’s war with Ukraine. “I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours,” he has said. But Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called bullshit, saying that Trump already had his chance to end Vladimir Putin’s aggression against his country.
“It seems to me that the sole desire to bring the war to an end is beautiful,” Zelensky said during an interview on ABC’s This Week Sunday after host Martha Raddatz played a clip of Trump’s brag. “But this desire should be based on some real-life experience. Well, it looks as if Donald Trump had already these 24 hours once in his time. We were at war, not a full-scale war, but we were at war, and as I assume, he had that time at his disposal, but he must have had some other priorities.”
Zelensky added that Trump’s idea of ending the war might be for Ukraine to cede some of its land to Russia. “If we are talking about ending the war at the cost of Ukraine, in other words to make us give up our territories, well, I think, in this way, Biden could have brought it to an end even in five minutes, but we would not agree,” he said.
In recent weeks, world leaders have debated the merits of admitting Ukraine to NATO, which would give it the guarantee of NATO protection in a war with Russia. Zelensky said he hopes that even if Ukraine is not invited to join the alliance, that it will give his nation security guarantees regardless. If those guarantees are not on the table, however, he may not attend NATO’s upcoming summit.
“If there is no unity regarding the technical invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance, it’s all a matter of political will just to find the proper wording and invite Ukraine,” he said. “It would be an important message to say that NATO is not afraid of Russia. Ukraine should get clear security guarantees while it is not in NATO. And that is a very important point. Only under these conditions our meeting would be meaningful. Otherwise, it’s just another politics.”
Zelensky also shared words of gratitude to Americans for all they have done to help Ukraine and a message for those who say the U.S. has helped “enough” already and should cease its support.
“I would like to say thank you to all Americans for what you have done, and I appreciate those who say that you’ve done enough. Trust me, no matter what I appreciate help,” he said. “When it comes to the word enough, well, we, Ukrainians, are not people known for excessive appetites. Our victory is enough for us. Honestly, when we have enough for our victory, then it will be enough.”
