Zelensky criticized Trump’s initiative and explained his position
U.S. President Donald Trump, along with his team, is prepared to pressure Ukraine to end the war by demanding territorial concessions.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as reported by RBC-Ukraine citing an interview with Axios.
Also read: The tip of the iceberg: Zelensky made a statement about the U.S. condition regarding Donbas
As noted by the Ukrainian president, the recent negotiations of the Ukrainian delegation in Miami with Trump’s special representatives – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – yielded no results.
“I am confident that President Trump and his team want to end the war. My concern is that they see only one way to do this. They do not see any other way than withdrawing Ukrainian troops from our territory. But why should we pay for this?” Zelensky stated.
According to him, Ukraine is not the aggressor. It is unclear why no one is actually assessing the danger of such a decision for the country’s security.
The head of state added that after the confrontation with Iran is resolved, U.S. authorities may again increase pressure on Ukraine to force it to make territorial concessions in order to end the war with Russia.
What preceded this
Recall that earlier Volodymyr Zelensky had already revealed details of the tough U.S. condition, according to which Ukraine must withdraw troops from Donbas to receive security guarantees. According to the president, Donald Trump’s administration is currently choosing a strategy of increasing pressure specifically on Kyiv.
At the same time, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Zelensky’s interpretation of the ultimatum regarding withdrawal from Donbas in exchange for guarantees a “lie,” stating that Washington had a different approach in mind for ending the war.
Additionally, the president suggested the possibility that the U.S. might redirect weapons intended for Ukraine to the Middle East. So far, there have been no such signals, but Zelensky identified a key factor that will determine this decision on the American side.
