President-elect Donald Trump is “capable of stopping” Russian President Vladimir Putin and he will be a driving force delivering an expeditious outcome to the war in Eastern Europe, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday in a domestic television interview.
“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” Zelensky posited in an hour-long exchange with Ukrainian TV, Reuters reports .
“His qualities are indeed there,” he added when discussing the incoming U.S. commander in chief. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
Zelensky added U.S. backing in the fight against Russia is essential to forcing through a lasting outcome based on an immediate ceasefire.
“Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine,” the Ukrainian leader said in the interview, adding Trump’s aura of success is a challenge to Moscow.
“I believe Putin is scared of Trump. That’s why he’s taking steps to get some of the Kremlin’s voice somehow into the Trump administration,” Zelensky said, without offering any evidence of the Kremlin putting a “voice” into the White House.
During the interview, Zelensky also touched on Ukraine’s pressing need for robust security guarantees.
“Any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine,” Zelensky explained. “To be honest, Europeans are keeping their eyes out on the opinion of the president of the United States.”
As Breitbart News reported , in 2023 Trump told Nigel Farage he would be able to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours when reelected in 2024.
Trump described the conflict as being a “disaster”, adding he believed the death toll in the country to be higher than what is being reported by either the Russian or Ukrainian governments.
“I will end that war in one day. It will take 24 hours,” he said. “I know Zelensky well, I know Putin well, I would get that ended in a period of one day.”
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