Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday, January 20th, that he was worried U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to take Greenland could be diverting focus away from Russia’s invasion, now approaching its four-year mark.
Trump last week threatened European nations with tariffs of up to 25% for opposing his plans to acquire Greenland, drawing anger from Brussels and putting the NATO military alliance under unprecedented strain.
Ukraine, which is currently battling a wave of Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure, is keen to avoid a dispute that could fracture unity among its Western allies.
“I’m worried about any loss of focus during a full-scale war,” Zelensky told reporters.
He added that the dispute surrounding Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory, and the Ukraine war should not be seen as “interchangeable.”
“We have a full-scale war, we have a specific aggressor, and we have specific victims,” he said.
He also called on Washington to engage in diplomacy with Europe.
“I want very, very much America to hear Europe, to truly hear it in the format of diplomacy. I think that’s what will happen and I strongly believe there won’t be any major threats,” he said.
Zelensky’s words come as an overnight Russian bombardment left thousands of residential buildings in Kyiv without heating and water in -14C temperatures on Tuesday, when the Ukrainian capital was already scrambling to restore vital utilities destroyed in earlier attacks.
The barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles, which targeted energy facilities across Ukraine, killed at least one person near Kyiv.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying: “War criminal Putin continues to wage a genocidal war against women, children, and elderly.”
He said Russian forces had targeted energy infrastructure overnight in at least seven regions, and urged Ukraine’s allies to bolster its air defence systems.
