Donald Trump just claimed Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to make a “deal” with Vladimir Putin to bring the Ukraine war to an end.
The US president-elect has long promised to end the regional conflict within his first 24 hours back in the White House.
Yet he has never said how he would do that, sparking fears he would force Kyiv to cede its four occupied territories to Russia, previously a red line for Ukrainian president.
Trump met with Zelenskyy in Paris on Saturday to mark the reopening of the Notre Dame and to discuss “defence and offence” in Ukraine.
Afterwards, the Republican wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness.”
Citing the high casualty rate – western intelligence estimate 700,000 Russian troops have been wounded or killed since the war began in February 2022 – Trump said it was a “war that should never have started and could go on forever”.
He also claimed Ukraine is grappling with his own losses, adding: “They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.
“Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse.”
The exact number of losses is a closely guarded secret on both sides of the war.
Trump seemed to put out a personal plea to the Russian president too, ending his post by saying: “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”
Zelenskyy appeared to back Trump’s push to end the war soon while he was in Paris.
Shortly after meeting the president-elect, he said they had agreed to push for a “just peace” and echoed Trump’s phrase of “peace through strength”.
Zelenskyy said: “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way. We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace.”
The Ukrainian president previously said he was not on board with Trump’s push for negotiations, but seems to have changed his tune since the Republican won the US election.
Meanwhile, Putin is pushing his troops deeper into Ukraine at the fastest rate seen in the war yet.
The outgoing Biden administration also gave Kyiv permission to use American long-range missiles against Russia for the first time last month – and the UK followed suit – which the Kremlin claimed was an escalation.