Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a stark warning to Donald Trump on Friday, insisting that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has no genuine desire for peace despite the American president’s optimism about ending the war.
“We want peace, Putin doesn’t want peace. That’s why we need pressure on him,” Zelensky declared during a high-stakes meeting at the White House, underscoring Kyiv’s continued push for stronger American military support.
The pointed remarks came as Trump expressed confidence that the Russian president was ready to negotiate, creating a public divide between the two allies over how to interpret Moscow’s intentions.
Trump Voices Optimism Despite Putin Concerns
Standing alongside the Ukrainian leader, Trump insisted he believed Putin genuinely wanted to end the conflict. “I think President Putin wants to end the war, or he wouldn’t be talking this way,” the US president said.
However, Trump also acknowledged lingering doubts about the Russian leader’s sincerity. When questioned by reporters, he admitted concerns about being manipulated.
“I have been played all my life by the best of them,” Trump said, signalling his reticence following a lengthy telephone conversation with Putin on Thursday.
The American president described his approach to negotiations with characteristic confidence. “It just seems to me that, you know, it’s how I feel. That’s all I’ve done in my whole life, I’ve made deals, I know about deals, I do it well.”
Trump also made the bold claim that no previous American president had successfully ended a war, suggesting he could be the first to achieve such a feat.
Ukrainian Leader Celebrates Middle East Success, Presses for Military Aid
Zelensky opened his remarks by praising Trump’s recent diplomatic achievements in the Middle East before pivoting to the situation in Ukraine. He expressed confidence that Russian forces were weakening on the battlefield.
“I am confident with your help that we can stop this war. We see that they do not have success on the battlefield, they are weaker now,” the Ukrainian president said.
The meeting took place just 24 hours after Trump agreed to a second face-to-face summit with Putin, expected to take place in Hungary and hosted by Trump’s political ally, Hungarian President Viktor Orbán.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed that Putin had congratulated Trump during their Thursday call for “solving the conflict in Israel and Gaza and bringing peace back to the Middle East.
Tomahawk Missiles Become Diplomatic Bargaining Chip
A key topic of discussion centred on Ukraine’s request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, weapons Washington has been reluctant to provide due to fears of escalating the conflict and deepening US-Russia tensions.
Trump revealed he had raised the possibility of supplying the missiles during his conversation with Putin, framing it in characteristically unconventional terms.
“I did actually say, ‘Would you mind if I gave a couple of thousand tomahawks to your opposition?’ I did say that to him. I said it just that way. He didn’t like the idea,” Trump recounted. “You have to be a little lighthearted sometimes.”
The president described the Tomahawks as “vicious,” “offensive” and “incredibly destructive,” but appeared to suggest he might wait until after his second meeting with Putin before making a final decision on providing them to Ukraine.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned on Wednesday in Brussels that if Russia refused to negotiate, Washington “will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression.
Zelensky Doubts Putin’s Sincerity
In a post on social media platform X on Thursday night, Zelensky made clear his scepticism about Putin’s willingness to genuinely pursue peace.
Nothing has changed for Russia – it is still terrorising life in Ukraine,” Zelensky wrote. “Russia will be forced to stop the war once it is no longer able to continue it.”
The Ukrainian leader added that Putin’s “true readiness for peace lies not in words – Putin has never been short of those – but in actually ceasing the strikes and killings, and that’s precisely where he has a problem.
Complex Dynamics Between Three Leaders
When asked by reporters which leader was negotiating more effectively, Trump praised both men but emphasised they needed to set aside personal animosity.
“They need to take some of their hatred for each other out of the equation,” Trump said, adding that both Putin and Zelensky were “doing a great job.”
The president acknowledged the personal tensions between the two leaders might prevent direct negotiations. “I mean, we have a problem. They don’t get along too well, those two, and it’s sometimes tough to have meetings,” Trump said.
He floated the possibility of separate negotiations. “So we may do something where we’re separate, but separate but equal,” Trump suggested.
Putin has not yet committed to meeting Zelensky face-to-face.
Evolving US-Ukraine Relations
Relations between Trump and Zelensky have improved significantly since their contentious late February meeting in the Oval Office, during which Trump bluntly told the Ukrainian leader: “You don’t have the cards.”
Trump has maintained contact with Putin throughout his second term and met him in person in August in Alaska, though that summit produced no concrete peace agreement whilst allowing Putin to portray himself as returning to the world stage after becoming an international pariah following the February 2022 invasion.
“Well, I think Alaska actually set a stage and that wasn’t very long ago, but it set a stage,” Trump said Thursday, defending the meeting despite criticism.
The president revealed that first lady Melania Trump had influenced his perspective on the war, opening his eyes to Russia’s consistent bombing and killing of Ukrainian civilians in the aftermath of friendly telephone calls with Putin.
Trump has privately expressed frustration that the Ukraine war has proven harder to resolve than he initially anticipated, despite his self-proclaimed good relationship with the Russian president.
When reporters pressed Zelensky about potential concessions Ukraine might make, noting Trump had “stuck out his neck” for peace efforts, the Ukrainian president responded that decisions could only be made after direct talks. “They will have to sit down and talk first,” he said.
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Image Credit:
Donald Trump meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine — photo by U.S. Department of Defense / U.S. Air Force (DoD Visual Information Division), licensed under CC BY 3.0
