‘Ukraine exhausted, but won’t surrender’: Zelenskyy says ‘Putin is war’ but Trump not piling enough pressure

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged that the country, its people and its armed forces are “exhausted” after four years of war with Russia. The president, however, maintained that surrendering to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands is not an option.

“We can’t just give him everything he wants. Because he wants to occupy us. If we will give him all he wants, we will lose everything — all of us, people will have to run away or be Russian," Zelenskyy told CNN as he gave an emotional interview on the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, unleashing the deadliest war in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of military personnel on both sides. Millions of refugees have fled Ukraine, where vast areas have been devastated by fighting.

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‘Need US by our side’'

Zelenskyy highlighted Washington’s role in ending the war and said that the US is far too big and too important to walk away from the conflict. He hopes that US President Donald Trump will back Kyiv during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

“They have to stay with … a democratic country which is fighting against one person. Because this person is a war. Putin is a war. It’s all about himself. It’s all about one person. And the country, all his country is in the prison," Zelenskyy said.

“If they really want to stop Putin, America’s so strong," he added, saying that he currently does not believe that Potus is putting enough pressure on Putin.

‘Good things in the security guarantees but…’

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said security guarantees remain a major obstacle, particularly the question of how Ukraine’s allies would respond if Russia were to launch another invasion in the future.

“We have good things in these security guarantees, it’s true,” he said of the promises currently on the table. “But I want (a) very specific answer: what (our) partners will be ready to do if Putin will come again. This is what Ukrainians want to hear,” he said.

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There is also a dispute over the order of steps toward peace, Volodymyr Zelensky said. Donald Trump wants Zelensky to simultaneously sign a peace accord with Russia and an agreement with the United States and European countries granting Ukraine security guarantees, ideally during a major ceremony to mark the war’s end.