Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could listen to former US President Donald Trump's ideas for ending the war in Ukraine with “pleasure”, but was careful when broaching the topic during an interview at the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece.
The Ukrainian leader's statements came after reports that the Republican had said that if he were re-elected president, he would pressure Ukraine into a peace agreement with Russia that would see Kiev cede territory in the process.
“Firstly, these points were in the media. I didn’t hear that directly from Trump,” Zelensky said via video to Trump’s senior correspondent. CNN Fred Pleitgen.
“His ideas in detail, I didn’t have the opportunity to discuss them on how to end the war.”
Zelensky continued: “If I have this opportunity, I will gladly listen and we can discuss the topic.”
Previously, Zelensky told German newspaper The Bild that he invited Trump to Ukraine “to see everything with his own eyes and draw his conclusions.”
He said Trump conveyed interest in accepting the invitation to visit Ukraine.
The Trump campaign on Wednesday disagreed with Zelensky's comments, calling them “incorrect.”
“There was no disclosure from Zelensky, and President Trump said it would not be appropriate for him to go to Ukraine right now since he is not the commander in chief,” a Trump campaign official told CNN .
The Ukrainian leader also used the economic forum to call on allies to be “realistic” rather than “pessimistic” when asked by the reporter about Ukraine's long waiting periods for Western weapons production and deployment while its forces are retreating.
Zelensky said the situation in Ukraine's eastern regions is “stabilized now.”
“We see how our GDP is increasing because the maritime corridor is working. I wouldn’t look at the situation the way you do,” he continued.
“We are at war and the enemy is serious, but let’s be realistic, not pessimistic.”
He added: “Once we have weapons and concrete support from partners, we will break Putin’s back.”
Also during his speech at the forum, Zelensky pointed to Russia's use of aerial bombs as one of Vladimir Putin's main “bets” to change the course of the war.
“Now Russia starts hitting Kharkiv with aerial bombs. These are guided bombs that destroy everything within hundreds of meters,” Zelensky explained, calling it “the last of Putin’s effective bets in this war.”
He said that Putin’s “bet is on terror” and that the Russian leader “thinks he will turn the situation in his favor with these bombs that collapse any building.”
“He thinks that these bombs will be enough and that their trajectories will end up destroying our energy, throwing Ukraine into a blackout.”
Zelensky also stressed that Ukraine is complying with the conditions imposed by Western countries on the supply of weapons to Kiev.
Asked about restrictions imposed by Western countries, including not using long-range weapons on targets in Russia, Zelensky said that none of the weapons used on Russian territory were supplied by the West.
“I would like to emphasize that no Western weapons were used to attack in this way. We do not even retaliate with attacks with such weapons on Russian territory.”
“Ukraine does not even use its own weapons against the civilian population.”
Russia launched missile strikes in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine on Wednesday, hitting transport and logistics infrastructure, the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine said.
There is currently no information about the victims and the extent of the damage.
Ukraine's state railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said in a Telegram post that two people were injured.
The latest attacks on Odesa follow a wave of drone raids in southern Ukraine overnight. Russian forces attacked an energy facility causing a fire that was contained, the defense forces said on Telegram.
The attack on southern Ukraine's infrastructure caused power cuts in the Kherson region, said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the region's military administration.
Work is underway to restore power in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, Ukraine's state energy company Ukrenergo said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
