Trump, who will take office on January 20, has promised to end this war within “24 hours”. Kyiv has reacted skeptically to this claim, fearing that it would be forced to give up territories in exchange for peace.
“He is very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump use his unpredictability against Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
Ukraine’s president has been trying to reach out to Trump and his team since the US presidential election in November amid concerns that Trump could slow or completely stop US military aid to Ukraine.
Zelensky said he supported the deployment of French peacekeepers to Ukraine to guarantee a peace deal with Russia, should one emerge, but stressed that it should be a step towards joining NATO.
“We support this initiative, but France alone is not enough. We would not want this initiative to be limited to one or two countries. It should definitely be on the way to NATO,” Zelenskiy said.
Zelensky also admitted that the Ukrainian army is suffering from fatigue due to continued Russian attacks on the front. “They’re putting pressure and the guys are tired,” Zelensky said.
Russia advanced nearly 4,000 square kilometers into Ukraine last year. This happened in conditions where the Ukrainian army is chronically undermanned and exhausted.