Zelensky says war will ‘end sooner’ with Trump as president

“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,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.

He added that Ukraine “must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means”.

The situation on the battlefield is difficult, with Russian forces making advances, Zelensky said.

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

Trump and Zelensky have long had a tumultuous relationship. Trump was impeached in 2019 over accusations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up damaging information on the Biden family.

Despite years of differences, Trump has insisted he had a very good relationship with Zelensky.

When the pair met in New York in September, Trump said he “learned a lot” from the meeting and said he would get the war “resolved very quickly”.

Trump has yet to divulge how he intends to end the war.

His Democratic opponents have accused him of cosying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and say his approach to the war amounts to surrender for Ukraine that will endanger all of Europe.

But 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 $61bn (£49bn) package in military aid for Ukraine to help combat Russia’s invasion.

The US has been the biggest arms supplier to Ukraine – between February 2022 and the end of June 2024, it delivered or committed weapons and equipment worth $55.5bn (£41.5bn), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.