Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is certain the war with Russia will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have once Donald Trump becomes US president.
Zelensky said he had a “constructive exchange” with Trump during their phone conversation after his victory in the US presidential election.
He did not say whether Trump had made any demands regarding possible talks with Russia, but said he’d not heard anything from him that was contrary to Ukraine’s position.
Trump has consistently said his priority is to end the war and stop what he says is a drain on US resources, in the form of military aid to Ukraine.
Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives approved a $61bn (£49bn) package in military aid for Ukraine to help combat Russia’s invasion.
The US has been the biggest arms supplier to Ukraine – between February 2022 and the end of June 2024, it delivered or committed weapons and equipment worth $55.5bn (£41.5bn), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.
He added that Ukraine “must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means”.
The situation on the battlefield is difficult, with Russian forces making advances, Zelensky said.
Trump and Zelensky have long had a tumultuous relationship. Trump was impeached in 2019 over accusations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up damaging information on the family of US President Joe Biden.
Despite years of differences, Trump has insisted he had a very good relationship with Zelensky.
When the pair met in New York in September, Trump said he “learned a lot” from the meeting and said he would get the war “resolved very quickly”.
During the US election campaign, the former president turned president-elect repeatedly pledged to end the war “in a day” – but has yet to divulge how he intends to do so.
His Democratic opponents have accused him of cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and say his approach to the war amounts to surrender for Ukraine that will endanger all of Europe.
But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke with Trump following his election win, told German media that the incoming US leader had a “more nuanced” position on the war than was commonly assumed.
Scholz told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that his call with Trump was “perhaps surprisingly, a very detailed and good conversation”.
The German leader was criticised by Zelensky over a phone call with Putin – the first in nearly two years – on Friday. Despite Scholz’s office saying he reiterated his call to end the war, Zelensky said it weakened the Russian leader’s isolation.
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