Zelenskiy unaware of Trump's plan to end Ukraine war quickly

8/11/2024 6:15

        President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
        said on Thursday he was not aware of any details of U.S.
        President-elect Donald Trump's plan to end the Ukraine war
        quickly and he was convinced a rapid end would entail major
        concessions for Kyiv.
        
        The Ukrainian leader told a news conference at the European
        Political Community summit in Budapest that he believed Trump
        wanted to end the war with Russia quickly, but that he had not
        discussed a plan with him.
        
        "If it's just fast, it means losses for Ukraine. I just
        don't yet understand how this could be in any other way. Maybe
        we do not know something, do not see," he said.
        
        Trump's election victory this week has escalated a sense of
        great uncertainty for Ukraine's war effort at a perilous moment
        with Moscow's troops making their most rapid advances in months
        and North Korean troops deployed in Russia's Kursk region.
        
        Zelenskiy was among the first leaders to congratulate the
        president elect, who on the campaign trail criticised the scale
        of U.S. military and financial support for Kyiv and vowed to end
        the war quickly, without saying how.
        
        The United States has been Kyiv's most important ally in the
        war and Zelenskiy has pointedly praised Trump's election victory
        in his statements. He spoke by telephone with the Republican
        late on Wednesday and described the conversation as "excellent".
        
        "I believe President Trump really wants a quick decision.
        Wants - it does not mean that it will happen. And I'm (talking)
        here without any reproach, I am just saying that we are where we
        are," he told reporters.
        
        In Russia, whose troops control around a fifth of Ukrainian
        territory, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he was
        ready to speak to Trump, as any ideas on facilitating an end to
        the Ukraine crisis merited attention.
        
        Zelenskiy said: "We must be preparing for any decision. We
        want a fair end to the war. I am sure that the imminent end of
        the war means losses."
        
        CEASEFIRE FEARS
        
        Zelenskiy used harsh language to oppose the idea of a
        ceasefire in the war without security guarantees being provided
        to Kyiv, something Ukraine says it needs to prevent Russia
        launching an even bigger offensive further down the line.
        
        "It's a very scary challenge for our citizens: first a
        ceasefire, then we'll see. Who are you? Are your children
        dying?"
        
        "A ceasefire is being proposed, for instance by a leader who
        is against having Ukraine in NATO. Imagine... this is nonsense
        and disharmony."
        
        The comment appeared directed at Hungarian Prime Minister
        Viktor Orban, the event's host, who used the summit to repeat
        his call for a ceasefire in the war as a first step.
        
        Similar calls had come from Brazil and China, Zelenskiy
        said, and essentially served Russia's interest.