In an interview with POLITICO's Dasha Burns on Friday, December 13 at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said that only the United States has the political and financial power to end the war. At the same time, he noted that the burden of helping the country plunged into the war caused by Russia was entirely borne by Europe.
— Honestly, currently only Ukraine is defending Europe, Zelensky said in “Pub POLITICO” on the occasion of the annual summit taking place in Germany. — Currently, only Europe gives money and helps Ukraine. Today, only the United States can stop Putin – he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking a few days before the fourth anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, criticized the United States for trying to force Ukrainians to give up territory in Donbas without demanding any sacrifices from the Kremlin.
“From what I see, they are sending more signals that it is Ukraine that needs to compromise, not Russia,” he said. — This is not the right position – he pointed out.
The Ukrainian president also appeared to suggest that Congress would need to support security guarantees [dla Ukrainy po zawarciu pokoju z Rosją]either by allocating more resources to the Ukrainian armed forces after the war, or by concluding a treaty. — Security guarantees will be effective only after a vote in Congress, Zelensky emphasized.
Zelensky in Munich: Putin doesn't have much time left
During a conversation with a POLITICO journalist, the Ukrainian president rejected this President Donald Trump's demand that Kyiv and Moscow reach a peace agreement by the summer. He said the Kremlin was stalling talks with the United States in an attempt to normalize relations and ease sanctions.
“Until there's enough pressure.” [na prezydenta Rosji Władimira Putina i jego urzędników]they will play, Zelensky said.
According to Zelensky, Putin's goal is to occupy the eastern parts of Ukraine, including parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where the Kremlin's military operations have made the greatest progress.
Peace talks, led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, are to be resumed in Geneva next week (this was confirmed, among others, by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his speech at the Munich Security Conference). But they have been put on hold because Ukraine resists American pressure to give up territories — some of which are not yet controlled by Russia — and the lack of specific security guarantees for Kiev in the post-war agreement.
The President of Ukraine praises NATO and Europe
Zelensky praised NATO's initiative to provide Ukraine with more American-made weaponsbut said that it did not change the Russian president's opinion about Europe's weakness. “Putin really doesn't respect Europe,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding that his Russian counterpart's efforts to divide the continent had failed.
Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure have left millions without heat and electricity in sub-zero temperatures, and (since the war began) more than a million people on both sides have been killed or injured. However, Zelensky still seems convinced that Ukraine will survive Putin's regime. — I'm younger than Putin – that's important. He doesn't have much time left, Zelensky said.
