Volodymyr Zelenskiy has given a wide-ranging interview to the New Yorker. In it he said that Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance is “too radical” in his ideas of how to end the war in Ukraine.
Vance, who has criticised US aid packages to Ukraine and pushed for negotiations with Russia, suggested earlier this month that Trump’s plan to end the war could include the establishment of a special demilitarized zone between Ukraine and Russia.
Vance said that Ukraine would retain its sovereignty, but would have to give assurances to Moscow that it would not join Nato or any other allied institutions.
“The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable. But I do not consider this concept of his a plan, in any formal sense,” the Ukrainian president said in his interview with the New Yorker which was published on Sunday.
“I don’t take Vance’s words seriously, because, if this were a plan, then America is headed for global conflict. It will involve Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Taiwan, China, as well as many African countries. That approach would broadcast to the world the following implicit rule: I came, I conquered, now this is mine,” he added.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Zelenskiy asked for his country to be admitted to the 32-member defensive alliance as soon as possible.
Jens Stoltenberg, the outgoing Nato secretary general, said Ukraine’s membership to Nato is not a “question of if, but when”, though he said Ukraine would not become a member during the war with Russia.
In the New Yorker interview, Zelenskiy said Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, does not know how to stop the war even if he thinks he does.
Zelenskiy arrived in the United States on Sunday to attend sessions at the U.N. General Assembly and urged his partners to help achieve “a shared victory for a truly just peace.”
“This fall will determine the future of this war,” he said in a post on X alongside his nightly video address, delivered from his plane.
Zelenskiy made an unannounced stop in President Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania to visit a munitions plant which he said was ramping up manufacture of crucial 155-millimeter artillery shells to help the Ukraine war effort.
“It is in places like this where you can truly feel that the democratic world can prevail,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X, alongside photographs of him thanking plant workers.
The Ukrainian leader’s concerns about a shortage of such munitions have taken on added urgency as Russia pummels Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of the critical winter months.
In his video address, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was doing everything it could, by acquiring weapons and through diplomacy, “to consolidate our partners’ support and force Russia into peace.”
Zelenskiy flew on to New York, where he was expected to meet heads of U.S. companies to discuss his country’s energy needs as well as leaders of states and international organizations.
Zelenskiy’s visit coincides with U.S. efforts to prepare a $375 million military aid package for Ukraine, breaking a months-long trend toward smaller packages for Kyiv’s military operations.
Zelenskiy said he would present a “victory plan” in Ukraine’s war against Russia first to Biden. He is also expected to discuss the plan with Vice President Kamala Harris in a separate meeting on Thursday, as well as with other world leaders.
Zelenskiy also hopes to meet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called U.S. aid to its eastern European ally a waste of money and has declined to say he wants Ukraine to win. Trump has said he will probably meet with Zelenskiy this week but no date has been announced.
Trump faces Harris in the Nov. 5 U.S. election.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday that an aid package, expected to be announced this week, includes patrol boats, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), 155- and 105-millimeter artillery ammunition, spare parts and other weapons.
The officials said the contents and size of the package could change in the coming days ahead of Biden’s expected signature.
Ukrinform said Zelenskiy would speak at a UN summit on Monday, participate in Security Council meetings on Ukraine on Tuesday, and speak during the General Assembly on Wednesday.
Via Reuters
