With funding for his country’s war against Russia at risk now that the world’s attention is on the conflict in the Middle East, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to NBC to make the case for more money.
“If you can give us some financial support, OK, OK please, give us a credit and we will give you back money, after the war,” he said, adding that they could use it to “buy some ammunition, it will defend our jobs, we will have taxes, and we will buy, we will buy from American companies, just allow us and let’s see.”
100% real. 29-min markhttps://t.co/k09uCyC8Nt
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) November 7, 2023
This is just getting embarrassing beyond belief. pic.twitter.com/hlVRGu1L0J
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 7, 2023
In the same interview Zelenskyy shot down reports that U.S. and European officials have been quietly discussing what peace negotiations could look like to end the war with Russia, saying he refuses to speak to “terrorists.”
“We don't want to make any dialogue with terrorists,” he said. “And the president of the United States and Congress, bipartisan support, all these people, they know that I am not ready to speak with the terrorists because their word is nothing. Nothing. We can't trust terrorists because terrorists always come back, always come back.”
And when pressed on whether the war has reached a stalemate, an assessment even a top general in Ukraine has made, Zelenskyy denied it.
“The situation is difficult,” he told host Kristen Welker. “I don't think that this is a stalemate… They thought that they would checkmate us, but this didn't happen.”
He added: “Our military are coming up with different plans, with different operations in order to move forward faster and to strike Russian Federation unexpectedly. But barehanded, it's impossible to do without weapons, without relevant, proper weapons.”
According to NBC, the U.S. has given $75 billion in military, humanitarian, and financial aid to the country since the war began.