Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is afraid of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump, in a post on Truth Social last week, threatened Putin, urging him to reach a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war or face increased tariffs and sanctions. “Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump wrote.
In response to Trump’s strong warning to Putin and whether Ukraine is ready to negotiate a resolution to the war, Zelenskyy told Fox News host Sean Hannity, via a translator, that Putin is fearful because he doesn’t want “strong Trump” supporting Ukraine.
“This is exactly what Putin is afraid of. He doesn’t want strong Trump supporting Ukraine because it would be a strong Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
He added, “We would like to achieve a fair end to this war. We are not afraid. Russia is not that strong, but we don’t want to lose more of our lives, men and women.”
The war between Russia and Ukraine has now been ongoing for almost three years, resulting in hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha expressed support for Trump’s firm stance, saying, “We do really welcome such strong messages from President Trump” during a recent panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
