News Feed

Zelensky invites Trump to Ukraine, claims presidential candidate 'can't manage this war'

2 min read
Zelensky invites Trump to Ukraine, claims presidential candidate 'can't manage this war'
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 25, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Volodymyr Zelensky invited U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to Ukraine during an interview with NBC News on Nov. 5.

Responding to Trump’s claim that he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in 24 hours, Zelensky said he would prove to the former U.S. president that he couldn’t.

“If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes — yes, 24 minutes. Not more. Yes. Not more — 24 minutes to explain [to] President Trump that he can’t manage this war,” the Ukrainian leader said.

“President Biden was here, and I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here.”

Trump told NBC News on Sept. 15 that he would resolve the conflict in 24 hours if he won next year’s presidential election. However, he refused to provide any details.

“I would get him [Russian dictator Vladimir Putin] into a room. I’d get Zelensky into a room. Then I’d bring them together. And I’d have a deal worked out," the Republican candidate said.

Questions have arisen over what a Republican victory would mean for future U.S. support of Ukraine.

While U.S. President Joe Biden has been an avid supporter of Ukraine, providing $75 billion in financial and military aid since the start of the full-scale invasion, candidates for the Republican presidential nomination have largely opposed the continuation of this scale of funding for Ukraine.

Zelensky said he "doesn't know" if Trump would back Ukraine if he wins the presidential vote.

With Russia's war shifting into a more static but no less brutal positional struggle and the Ukrainian counteroffensive failing to make impressive territorial gains, international support for Ukraine balances on a precarious ledge.

Zelensky recently denied suggestions that the war is at a stalemate, claiming that the military is making new plans to "move forward faster" and strike Russia "unexpectedly.”

The president acknowledged that the cost of the war is high but told NBC, “We are not ready to give our freedom to this f***king terrorist, Putin.”

Poll: Republican support for Ukraine has declined, reaching new lows
A recent Gallup poll showed there is a significant partisan divide. A strong majority (62%) of Republicans think the U.S. is doing too much to help, while only 14% of Democrats think so. Independents remain in the middle at 44%.
Article image
Avatar
Dominic Culverwell

Reporter

Dominic is the business reporter for the Kyiv Independent. He has written for a number of publications including the Financial Times, bne IntelliNews, Radio Free Europe/Liberty, Euronews and New Eastern Europe. Previously, Dominic worked with StopFake as a disinformation expert, debunking Russian fake news in Europe.

Read more
News Feed
Video

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has become a daily reality for thousands of Ukrainian children. Some Ukrainian military units, such as the Azov Brigade, offer boot camps for teenagers to teach them the basics of self-defense, first aid, dry firing, and other survival skills — helping them prepare for both the realities of today and the uncertainties of the future.

Show More