The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is afraid of the United States, since after the arrival in Kiev of US President Donald Trump's envoy for Ukraine and Russia - Keith Kellogg, there have been no massive attacks, Ukrinform reported, referring to Zelensky's interview with the American channel "Newsmax", BTA reports.
"General Kellogg arrived and for two nights in a row there were no massive bombings. This is a very interesting example: there was no heavy shelling last night or the night before," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said that people joke about this, saying that General Kellogg should be given a Ukrainian passport and allowed to stay in Ukraine, and that Americans should visit the country more often, because then Russia would bomb less. "What does this mean? It means that Putin is deliberately bombing civilians. But when Americans are here, he doesn't do it," he added. Zelensky stressed that while American citizens are in Ukraine, Putin "intimidates, blackmails, creates tension, but does not go to full escalation."
"This means one thing: Putin is afraid of America. I have been saying this for a long time and I have also told the president (Donald Trump). In any case, Putin is afraid of America. I am sure of this," Zelensky said, adding that Trump is giving Putin a chance to end the war and expressing his gratitude for what Washington has provided to Ukraine in the course of the full-scale Russian invasion.
"I really want to believe that Trump has given Putin this opportunity. And I really want to believe that if Putin does not draw his own conclusions, President Trump will really impose powerful sanctions that cannot be circumvented - primarily in the energy and banking sectors. He (Trump) will also provide us with a strong package of deterrent measures and powerful air defense systems that will be able to protect Ukraine and ultimately European countries," the Ukrainian president emphasized.
Zelensky said that the previous US president - Democrat Joe Biden - failed to end the war, but he believes that President Trump will be able to do so.