Zelenskyy ‘frightened’ by Trump’s re-election, calls his rhetoric on war ‘dangerous’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was worried at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House, branding Trump’s claim that he could stop Ukraine’s war with Russia in 24 hours as “very dangerous.”
Trump’s potential re-election would lead to reduced support for Ukraine, Zelenskyy expressed. In an interview with the UK’s Channel 4 News that aired on Friday, Zelenskyy invited the former president and front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination to visit Kyiv, but only on the condition that he deliver on his words to “stop the war in 24 hours.
“Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. If you can stop the war in 24 hours, I think it will be enough to come,” Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy also described the former president’s rhetoric as “very dangerous” and appeared apprehensive that Trump’s idea of a negotiated solution might involve Ukraine making major concessions to Russia.
“(Trump) is going to make decisions on his own, without â€æ I’m not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us,” Zelenskyy said. “If he says this publicly, that’s a little scary. I’ve seen a lot, a lot of victims, but that’s really making me a bit stressed.”
“Because even if his idea (for ending the war) – that no one has heard yet – doesn’t work for us, for our people, he will do anything to implement his idea anyway. And this worries me a little,” he added.
Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that he is well-positioned to negotiate an end to the war that has raged for almost two years, saying he has a good relationship with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
However, Zelensky brushed off fears that Trump’s potential re-election would lead to reduced support for Ukraine.
“One man cannot change the whole nation,” he said.