Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is warning against former President Trump’s threat of immediately ending the war in Ukraine— because that would mean no more millions of dollars being handed over.
During an interview with the U.K.’s Channel 4 News, Zelensky criticized Trump’s claim he could end Ukraine’s war with Russia in 24 hours as “very dangerous.”
“Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. If you can stop the war in 24 hours, I think it will be enough to come,” the Ukrainian President said.
Last year, President Joe Biden announced a new $325 million military aid package for Ukraine— despite cutting a $400 million check, which made it the 43rd time the U.S. has sent weapons from its supply to the foreign country.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. has sent over $43 billion in military aid to Zelensky— which apparently is still not enough since he was at a closed-door meeting at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit in Davos, Switzerland, seeking additional funding and donations for his country.
Zelensky claimed Trump’s plans of forcing a negotiation between Russia and Ukraine are making him “stressed.”
(Trump) is going to make decisions on his own, without … I’m not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us. If he says this publicly, that’s a little scary. I’ve seen a lot, a lot of victims, but that’s really making me a bit stressed.
[…] Because even if his idea (for ending the war) – that no one has heard yet – doesn’t work for us, for our people, he will do anything to implement his idea anyway. And this worries me a little.
In response to Trump‘s May 2023 comments, Zelensky said he needs just 24 minutes to show the former president that he can't end the war because working with Russian President Vladimir Putin is impossible.
“He can’t bring peace because of Putin. If — but always there is an ‘if.’ If he’s not trying and if he’s not ready to give our territory to this terrible man, to Putin, if you are not ready to give it, if you are not ready to give our independence, he can’t manage it,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian President has repeatedly insisted that there can be no peace deal between the two countries if it does not see the removal of all Russian forces from lands that have been captured from Ukraine since 2014.