Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy just slammed the world leaders who “flirt” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
It comes amid speculation a second Trump administration would be less sympathetic to Ukraine’s cause than the White House currently is.
Republican nominee and former US president Trump has only said that he wants the war in Ukraine to end, not who he wants to win.
Pundits believe Trump could even end up pushing Ukraine to cede land to Putin just in an effort to end the violent conflict.
Still, in a weekend interview with the New Yorker, Zelenskyy did not name which politicians he was talking about when he expressed concerns about Putin’s relationships with international counterparts.
Zelenskyy said: “A lot of world leaders want to have some sort of dealings with Putin, to reach agreements, to conduct some business with him.
“I look at such leaders and realise that they are very interested in playing this game—and for them, unfortunately, it really is a game.
“But what makes a real leader? A leader is someone whom Putin needs for something, not a person who needs Putin.
“Flirting with him is not a sign of strength.”
While the war in Ukraine has left Putin pretty isolated on the world stage – particularly when it comes to former allies in the West – he still has a handful of supporters, like China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi.
However, if Trump were to be re-elected and reduce US support for Ukraine, there’s little doubt that would shift the war into Russia’s favour.
When questioned about Trump’s plans to “stop” the Ukraine war, Zelenskyy said: “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how.
“With this war, oftentimes, the deeper you look at it the less you understand.
“I’ve seen many leaders who were convinced they knew how to end it tomorrow, and as they waded deeper into it, they realised it’s not that simple.”
He also said he believes Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, is “too radical” and has a plan to “give up our territories” as part of a Ukrainian sacrifice.
Zelenskyy declared it to be an “awful idea” and said while there was “no way this could ever happen”, Vance was still sending “dangerous signals”.
He added: “Whichever president or vice-president raises this prospect—that ending the war hinges on cementing the status quo, with Ukraine simply giving up its land—should be held responsible for potentially starting a global war.
“Because such a person would be implying that this kind of behaviour is acceptable.”
