In video conferencing with the US President and Allies, Zelensky demonstrated his dissatisfaction with what he considers a Putin bluff. According to the Ukrainian leader, the Russian intention is not a ceasefire, but the total occupation of Ukraine.
“I told the US President and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing about his desire to end the war. He is trying to press all parts of the Ukrainian front before the Alaskan meeting. Russia is trying to show that he can occupy all Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Amid the announcement of the summit between Trump and Putin last Saturday (9), Zelensky said there can be no agreement for the end of the war without the participation of Ukraine. As he will not participate in the meeting, he told Trump that he wants the main issue of negotiations to be an immediate ceasefire.
Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who received Zelensky on Tuesday (13) in Berlin, also commented, arguing that Europe’s security interests are preserved. France President Emmanuel Macron, present in the video conferencing, stressed that Donald Trump clearly demonstrated the desire to end the war.
Zelensky’s statements occur at a time when Russia intensifies its offensive in eastern Ukraine, trying to press Kiev to give up part of its territory.
