Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Donald Trump that Vladimir Putin is “bluffing” when he says he wants to end the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrianian president told his American counterpart to be on his guard when he meets the Russian leader in Alaska on Friday.
His comments came as Trump warned Putin that Russia will face “very severe consequences” if he does not agree to a ceasefire in the talks.
Zelesnkyy took part in a virtual meeting with European leaders, including Keir Starmer, and Trump on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin alongside German chancellor Friedrich Merz afterwards, Zelenskyy said: “I told President Trump and all our European allies Putin is bluffing. He is trying to push before the Alaska meeting across all directions along the frontline. Russia wants to occupy the whole of Ukraine.”
He added: “I said to our European friends and President Trump that Putin definitely does not want peace, he wants to occupy Ukraine.”
He also said that Putin is “bluffing” when he claims that economic sanctions placed on Russia as a result of its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022 do not work.
“Sanctions are hitting the Russian war economy hard,” he said.
Speaking in Washington following his talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders, Trump held out the possibility of holding a summit with the Ukrainian president and Putin if Friday’s talks go well.
He said: “If the first one goes OK, we’ll have a quick second one. I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they’d like to have me there.”
Asked if Russia would face consequences if Putin did not agree to end the war, Trump said: “Yes, they will … very severe consequences.”
