Zelenskyy demands 'clear position' from Trump on ending Russia-Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday demanded a “clear position” from US President Donald Trump on ending the over three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war.

“Before we end the war, I really want to have all the agreements in place. I want to have a document that is supported by the US and all European partners. This is very important. To make this happen, we need a clear position of President Trump,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Sky News.

His remarks came in response to a question on Trump's second state visit to the UK this week, on which the Ukrainian president expressed hope that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be able to have a "very specific discussion on the security guarantees of the US for Ukraine."

In reaction to Trump’s remarks urging Europe to stop buying Russian oil, Zelenskyy said he believes Washington is strong enough to “take decisions of their own” and that his US counterpart can give Ukraine additional air defense systems.

"I'm sure the US can apply enough sanctions in order to hurt the Russian economy, plus Donald Trump has enough force to make Putin afraid of him,” he said.

He expressed agreement with Trump on Europe needing to stop buying Russian oil and gas, but said the US should not wait to impose further sanctions on Moscow.

“Europe has already introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia. And all that's lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US,” the Ukrainian president said.

Zelenskyy reaffirmed his readiness to meet Trump and Vladimir Putin in a trilateral format and his refusal of the Russian president’s proposal to meet in Moscow.

Speaking about the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska last month, Zelenskyy argued that the US president "gave a lot to Putin" and that the Russian president obtained a platform to escape political isolation without paying "anything for it."

He said that he believes the meeting in Alaska would have had “some result” if it was held in a trilateral format.

Zelenskyy claimed that Putin is trying to “trick the US” in order to avoid sanctions.

The Ukrainian president also touched on recent drone incursions in Poland and Romania, arguing that Russia, which has been accused for the violations by Bucharest, Kyiv, and Warsaw, is “testing NATO” and wants to see what the alliance is “ready for, both diplomatically and politically, and how the local population will respond to this."

He said the recent incursions served to send a message on not providing Ukraine with additional air defense systems “because you might need them yourself.”