Failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris attempted to paint Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy as being rooted in “surrender.” But Volodymyr Zelensky has himself praised the President-Elect for his “strong resolve” to bring the war to a “fair end.”
Reflecting on talks with Trump and Emmanuel Macron at the reopening of Notre Dame in Paris on Saturday, President Zelensky described Trump’s as “the right approach,” adding: “It is important that all details are thoroughly worked out to ensure that peace is truly durable.”
He also dismissed calls—made by the outgoing Biden administration, among others—for Ukraine to lower the draft age from 25 to 18, saying that “the goal should be to preserve as many lives as possible, not to preserve weapons in storages.”
The last point alludes to Zelensky’s view that in order for Trump’s plan for a quick end to the war to work, Ukraine must be “strong.”
This means a strong army, arms packages, long-range systems … we really, really need all of this.
Kyiv claims that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia invaded in February 2022. Trump says this is far from the truth—that “they have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians.”
He has also called for “an immediate ceasefire” to allow for proper peace talks to begin, expecting that Zelensky and his team will agree to this because they “would like to make a deal and stop the madness.”
Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has since claimed that the war “will end when all the objectives set by the president and commander-in-chief have been achieved. These goals can be achieved as a result of the special military operation or a result of relevant negotiations.”
