Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was feeling “a little bit” of pressure Saturday, after President Trump called for him to “get moving” on a peace deal.
The Ukrainian leader said his country would hold elections — something Trump has put pressure on him to do — if Washington gets Russia to agree to a ceasefire.
“Give us a ceasefire. President Trump can do it. Push Putin, make a ceasefire, then our Parliament will change the law and we will go to elections,” Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference.
“We can also offer a ceasefire to the Russians if they hold elections in Russia.”
The comments come after Trump appeared to once again blame Zelensky for the standstill in the negotiations.
“Russia wants to make a deal and Zelensky is going to have to get moving, otherwise he’s going to miss a great opportunity,” Trump said Friday when asked by reporters if he was still demanding Ukraine hold elections by the summer. “He has to move.”
Zelensky cast a defiant tone when discussing possible Ukrainian land concessions as part of an overarching deal — casting doubt on the belief they would lead to an enduring peace.
“It would be an illusion to believe that this war can now be reliably ended by dividing Ukraine — just as it was an illusion to believe that sacrificing Czechoslovakia would save Europe from a greater war,” Zelensky said.
The embattled Ukrainian president also had harsh words for his wartime opponent, Russian President Vladimir Putin — painting him as an isolated and eccentric warmonger.
“Putin does not live like ordinary people, he does not walk the streets, you will not see him in a cafe… Putin consults more with Czar Peter and Empress Catherine about territorial gains than with any living person,” Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, five Ukrainians were killed and 13 wounded in Russian strikes overnight.
The Kremlin launched 112 drones and an Iskander-M ballistic missile at Ukraine at around 6:30 pm, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Ukraine was able to shoot down 90 drones, but at least 18 made it past their air defenses and attacked 11 different targets in the country. Two spots were hit by falling debris from downed drones, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
Russia’s aerial assault targeted 31 settlements in Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast, killing two — including a 52-year-old man — and injuring four, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russian forces bombarded 41 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast with 655 strikes, killing one and wounding three others.
A teen boy, 16, and 23-year-old man were injured in strikes targeting Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast that also killed a 44-year-old woman.
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