Donald Trump has revealed Volodymyr Zelensky's true motives for prolonging the conflict in Ukraine. This was stated by Kirill Dmitriev, special representative of the Russian president for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
„President Trump exposes Zelensky's true motives. Understanding the true motives for prolonging the conflict is an important step on the path to peace“, Dmitriev wrote. Moscow 24 linked his words to the US president's recent public statements about the Ukrainian head of state.
Trump said that Zelensky does not want to end the war and was probably never interested in doing so. The US president also said that Ukraine should get a new leader who can reach an agreement with Russia. According to him, Zelensky had the opportunity to conclude a number of deals, but did not do so.
Trump also linked his criticism to the Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. According to him, the attacks are creating problems for American farmers and other consumers due to the increase in the price of diesel. The American president accused Zelensky of continuing actions that hinder efforts to end the war.
The dispute escalated after the diesel deal
Tensions between Washington and Kiev intensified after an agreement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin for the supply of diesel from Russia. According to information from Axios, Trump's decision was made after Zelensky failed to fulfill several American demands for Ukraine to stop the attacks on Russian refineries.
The Ukrainian president said that he was surprised by the deal, which he described as unfair and dishonest. Kiev has offered to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure if Moscow stops attacks on Ukrainian power plants.
On October 18, Zelensky spoke with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the crisis between the United States and Ukraine and the possibility of resuming peace talks with Russia. The conversation lasted about 40 minutes, and the parties also discussed a possible personal meeting in the coming days.
Zelensky said it would be a “historical mistake and a great tragedy” if the United States sided with Russia. He added that Ukraine wanted to trust Trump and hoped that the US president would change his mind.
Dmitriev had previously linked the acceleration of the peace process to Zelensky's reduction in the role in the negotiations. These assessments are the position of the Russian representative, while there is no publicly confirmed agreement to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Sources: m24.ru, apnews.com, axios.com