Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has claimed that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, is “afraid” to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that he wants to continue the war.
Zelenskyy made this statement on Thursday evening, following Putin’s response to the ceasefire deal earlier in the day.
The Ukrainian president described Putin’s words as “very predictable” and “very manipulative.”
According to Zelenskyy, Russia’s president is preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal.
“Putin, of course, is afraid to say directly to President Trump that he wants to continue this war, he wants to kill Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy said.
“That’s why they in Moscow are framing the idea of silence with such preconditions that nothing will happen at all or that it will not happen for as long as possible.”
Zelenskyy added that while Ukraine does not “set conditions that complicate anything,” Russia does.
He then called on Ukraine’s allies to increase pressure on Putin and impose further sanctions.
