‘Tell us now’: Zelensky demands Trump say now what his peace plan is for Ukraine
By Annmarie Hordern and Daryna Krasnolutska
Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Donald Trump should come forward with his plan to quickly end the war with Russia, warning that any proposal must avoid violating the nation’s sovereignty.
“If Trump knows how to finish this war, he should tell us today,” Zelensky said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Kyiv on Wednesday. “If there are risks to Ukrainian independence, if we lose statehood – we want to be ready for this, we want to know.”
Then-US president Donald Trump met Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019.Credit: AP
The former US president, who leads in polls over President Joe Biden ahead of the November election, has boasted that he’ll end the war by the time he’s inaugurated in January. In the televised debate last week, Trump decried the billions of dollars spent on Ukraine’s defence, saying that Kyiv is “not winning the war”.
In a nearly hour-long interview, the Ukrainian leader lamented the delays in weapons deliveries from Western allies and said he was “potentially ready” to meet with Trump to hear his team’s proposals.
“They can’t plan my life and life of our people and our children,” he said. “We want to understand whether in November we will have the powerful support of the US, or will be all alone.”
The Ukrainian leader has had a fraught relationship with Trump, who during his presidency consistently accused Zelensky of corruption and soon after the former comedian’s 2019 election leaned on him to investigate allegations against Biden — a move that triggered his first impeachment.
Responding to questions from Bloomberg on Wednesday, Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said the prospective Republican presidential candidate “will do what is necessary to restore peace and rebuild American strength and deterrence on the world stage”.
Zelensky also challenged the notion that Kyiv is losing, refuting the term “deadlock” to describe the conflict. He said Kyiv’s forces are better positioned in terms of manpower than they were months ago and a new counteroffensive is a matter of arming its brigades.
“It’s not a deadlock, it’s a problematic situation,” he said. “A deadlock means there’s no way out. But a problem can be solved if one has the will and has the tools. We do have the will, and the tools – they haven’t arrived yet.”
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, during an interview in Kyiv.Credit: Bloomberg
As the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion goes well into its third year, dwindling stockpiles of weapons and ammunition among Ukrainian forces have been exploited by Russia’s military, which has made incremental gains since the beginning of the year.
While Zelensky lauded the $US61 billion assistance package approved by the US Congress this year — after a six-month long delay — he said the equipment was taking too long to make its way to the front.
“This is the biggest tragedy of this war, that between the decision and real fact, we have a real long, long, long wait,” Zelensky said.
NATO allies agreed Wednesday they should aim to provide at least €40 billion ($64 billion) in military aid for Ukraine per year, but refrained from explicit pledges for the years ahead, according to alliance diplomats.
An elderly injured man waits for medical treatment after Russia’s missile attack in Dnipro, Ukraine.Credit: AP
The Ukrainian leader also said China could play a “tremendous role” in resolving the conflict, since Moscow is so dependent on its market for exports. He suggested that the US and China, should they put aside differences, could act together to end the war.
But a day after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban — on his first trip to Kyiv during the war — urged Zelensky to consider a cease-fire, the Ukrainian leader rejected the notion. He said that those pitching for such a scenario have failed to articulate how a ceasefire would work.
“Nobody has an answer,” Zelensky said. “I’m not accusing, I’m just explaining.”
A Russian missile and drone strike killed at least five people and wounded 53 in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday.
Footage filmed by a scared onlooker and published by Zelensky on his Telegram messaging app showed a large explosion in the sky followed by a fireball shooting off towards the ground.
“Inside, everything is damaged, outside everything is also damaged. I’ve got jitters on my body, my hands ... it’s all very complicated and scary,” Olha, the manager of a cafe that was hit, told Reuters.
She said some of her staff had been wounded and were concussed.
Georgyi, an elderly man with a bandaged nose and bloodied face, told Reuters: “There was such a strong explosion that the wave hit me and I fell.”
At least four of the 53 wounded remained in severe condition, local authorities said.
Bloomberg, Reuters
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