Zelenskyy to Trump: Put more pressure on Putin, ‘not on me’

POLITICO reported Wednesday that some Baltic and Nordic countries have a plan to give Ukraine enough money to keep it afloat through the first half of this year, even if Orbán maintains his veto.

But when it comes to peace negotiations, Zelenskyy was clear that Trump’s influence will still be key. “We need negotiations. We support them,” Zelenskyy said in the interview. “We don’t trust Russia, but I think, and I trust that Americans really want to finish with this war. I hope that they will help us, but we need more pressure on Russia, not on me.”

His comments come a week after Trump voiced renewed frustration with Zelenskyy, telling POLITICO that Ukraine’s leader needed to “get on the ball” and do a deal. Trump suggested he had more confidence in Putin’s willingness to negotiate a truce than Zelenskyy’s, without offering evidence for his view. “I think Putin is ready to make a deal,” Trump said.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 he has alarmed Kyiv and its European allies by appearing repeatedly to take Putin’s side, condemning Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and blaming him for starting the war, despite the fact that it was the Russian military that invaded in an unprovoked attack in February 2022.

Even so, talks with Trump’s envoys in December suggested the U.S. was ready to provide some form of security guarantee for Ukraine, which would underpin any peace deal. But there are still no details on what those promises would look like, Zelenskyy said.

“Be honest. For us, it’s very important, but we don’t have a clear answer,” he said.