President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his New Year video greeting late on Dec. 31 that no one would give peace to his country as a gift, but he believed the United States would stand together with Ukraine as it fights to stop Russia's full-scale invasion.
In a 20-minute address, Zelensky thanked the U.S. for providing a wide array of critical military equipment, including 39 multiple-launch rocket systems, 301 Howitzer artillery weapons, and over 300 million units of ammunition.
Zelensky added that he has "no doubt that the new American President is willing and capable of achieving peace and ending Putin’s aggression."
"(President-elect Donald Trump) understands that the first is impossible without the second. Because this is not a street fight where you have to calm down both sides. This is the full-scale aggression of a mad state against a civilized one," Zelensky said. "And I believe that we, together with the United States, are capable of exerting that force."
Zelensky also recalled conversations with outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden, and "everyone who supports us in the United States".
The Biden administration has provided the most substantial military support to Ukraine among Western nations since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. As of December 2024, the United States had committed over $60 billion in military aid and $26 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine, dwarfing the contributions of other major donors such as Germany ($11.4 billion) and the U.K. ($10.1 billion).
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
