Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called out Donald Trump on Sunday for his outlandish and repeated claims that he could end the country’s drawn-out conflict with Russia in just a day if re-elected.
He made the statements during an interview on ABC News’ This Week, telling anchor Martha Raddatz: “It seems to me that the sole desire to bring the war to an end is beautiful, but this desire should be based on some real-life experience.”
He continued by noting tensions between the two former Soviet countries were already ratcheting up during Trump’s years as president—and that he did little to lower the temperature.
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“It looks as if Donald Trump already had these 24 hours once in his time,” Zelensky said through a translator. “We were at war, not a full-scale war, but we were at war, and as I assume, he had that time at his disposal but he must have had some other priorities.”
Zelensky also rejected Trump’s past suggestion that Ukraine cede some of its contested territory to Russia as a peace offering—saying that he rejected such propositions wholeheartedly.
“If we are talking about ending the war at the cost of Ukraine—in other words, to make us give up our territories—I think, in this way, [President Joe] Biden could have brought it to an end in five minutes,” Zelensky said.
“But we would not agree,” Zelensky added.
Raddatz also asked Zelensky about the future of American aid to the war-torn country, noting the stance of a growing number of Republicans—and even a few Democrats—who question whether the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on U.S. support for Ukraine should be brought to an end.
“First, I would like to say thank you to all Americans for what you have done,” he began. “And I appreciate those who say, ‘We’ve done enough.’”
“We Ukrainians are not people known for excessive appetites,” he continued. “Our victory is enough for us—honestly, when we have enough to declare victory, then it will be ‘enough.’”
