'Now he trusts me much more,' Zelensky says as Trump shifts tone on Russia
U.S. President Donald Trump now trusts Kyiv more following dishonesty from Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Sept. 23.
"Gradually, (Trump) realized that Putin was simply sharing some information that was far from the truth on the battlefield. Now he trusts me much more because the information that my intelligence has, that we share with our partners," Zelensky said at a press conference.
Trump and Zelensky met earlier in the day on the sidelines of the U.N.'s annual leader-level General Assembly. Following their bilateral meeting, the U.S. leader told reporters he would share "in about a month from now" if he still trusts Putin.
Meanwhile, Zelensky warned that Russia will continue to wage its hybrid warfare against Europe even as it continues its war against Ukraine.
"I told him that (Putin) will not wait for the end of the war in Ukraine. Instead, he will try to look for weak spots in Europe, in NATO member countries, he will try to do this. I emphasized, I don't know what format he will choose, because there are cyberattacks and other methods," he said.
Zelensky's comments follow a series of Russian provocations in NATO territory. Moscow violated Polish airspace on Sept. 10, prompting Warsaw to shoot down Russian drones over its territory in a first for any NATO member in over three years of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.
Days after facing condemnation for violating Polish airspace, Russian drones again violated EU and NATO airspace, flying over Romanian territory on Sept. 13 amid a mass aerial attack on Ukraine. In another escalation on Sept. 19, three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace.
The U.S. leader has previously called for Ukraine to make concessions to Russia, but following his meeting with Zelensky, he signaled that Ukraine may be able to return all of its territory as Moscow refuses to cease hostilities.
"After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform afterward.
Trump has previously cited his positive relationship with Putin as a factor that will help the U.S. broker a peace deal to end Russia's war. The Russian leader was welcomed by Trump in Alaska as the two met on Aug. 15.
Despite Trump's calls for a peace deal to be reached, Russia has refused to cease hostilities against Ukraine.
In response, Trump has increasingly expressed frustration towards Putin for failing to work towards a diplomatic end to the war.
On Sept. 18, speaking at a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump said that Putin had "let him down."
"The one that I thought would be the easiest (to end) was because of my relationship with President Putin," he said. "But he's let me down. He’s really let me down."
