US president Donald Trump has piled pressure on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he pushed Kyiv to make a peace deal with Russia, urging him to hold elections and to “start accepting things” because his country was losing the war.
Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Mr Zelenskiy over his refusal to accept terms for a settlement that are widely seen in Ukraine as being tantamount to surrender, nearly four years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its pro-western neighbour.
“Well, he’s gonna have to get on the ball and start, uh, accepting things. You know, when you’re losing, ’cause he’s losing,” Mr Trump told Politico magazine, according to a published transcript of their interview.
“Russia has the ... upper hand. And they always did. They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger in that sense,” he added. “I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.”
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In February – before a disastrous White House meeting between the two presidents – Mr Trump called Mr Zelenskiy “a dictator without elections” after the Ukrainian leader said that his US counterpart seemed to be susceptible to Russian “disinformation”.
“I think it’s an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election, but, uh, I would think the Ukrainian people ... should have that choice,” Mr Trump told Politico in the interview published on Tuesday.
“And maybe Zelenskiy would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy any more.”
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Mr Zelenskiy’s five-year term in office would normally have expired last year, but elections are constitutionally barred under the martial law Ukraine introduced to help counter the invasion.
Millions of people have been displaced by the war and Russia bombs Ukrainian cities, towns and villages every day, making elections impossible for logistical and security reasons; Mr Zelenskiy and other officials say elections will follow quickly when fighting stops and stability is restored.
Mr Trump has consistently exerted far more pressure on Ukraine than on Russia in his efforts to end the war, and is likely to have been frustrated by Mr Zelenskiy’s refusal on Monday to countenance giving Ukrainian land to Russia as part of any peace deal.
“Of course, Russia insists that we give up territories. We, of course, do not want to give anything away. That is exactly what we are fighting for ... The Americans today are looking for a compromise,” Mr Zelenskiy said after meeting the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London.
“We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” he said, reiterating that under his country’s constitution, territorial changes must be put to a referendum.
Mr Zelenskiy held talks with EU and Nato officials in Brussels on Monday evening, before flying to Rome to meet Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Leo XIV.
“We are working very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war. The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the US,” he said on Tuesday.
“We are committed to a real peace and remain in constant contact with the United States ... In the near future, we will be ready to send the refined documents to the United States.”
