Zelensky Says "War Will End Sooner" With Trump's Presidency (X image @MykhailoRohoza)

Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukraine-Russia war will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Donald Trump becomes US president. He said he had a “constructive exchange” with Trump during their phone conversation after his victory in the US presidential election.

Zelensky did not clarified whether Trump had made any demands regarding possible talks with Russia, but said he’d not heard anything from him that was contrary to Ukraine’s position. The Ukrainian President also added that the situation on the battlefield is difficult, with Russian forces making advances.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens”, said Zelensky during an interview with the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne. He also added that Ukraine must do everything so that this war ends next year, and through diplomatic means.

The US-President-elect has consistently said his priority is to end the war and stop what he says is a drain on US resources, in the form of military aid to Ukraine.

Zelensky said US legislation only allows him to meet with Trump after his inauguration in January.

Trump and Zelensky had a shaky relationship in the past. Trump was impeached in 2019 over accusations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up damaging information on the Biden family. However, despite years of differences, the Republican has insisted he had a very good relationship with Zelensky.

When the pair met in New York in last September, Trump said he “learned a lot” from the meeting and said he would get the war “resolved very quickly”, but did not divulge on how he would do it.

Trump was accused by his Democratic opponents for cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said his approach to the war amounts to surrender for Ukraine that will endanger all of Europe.

At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke with Trump following his election win, told German media that the incoming US leader had a “more nuanced” position on the war than was commonly assumed. Scholz told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that his call with Trump was “perhaps surprisingly, a very detailed and good conversation”.

Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives approved a $61 billion military aid for Ukraine to help combat Russia’s invasion.

Washington has been the biggest arms supplier to Kyiv between February 2022 and the end of June 2024, it delivered or committed weapons and equipment worth $55.5 billion, as per the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.