Trump expected to stop Putin before achieving Middle East ceasefire – Zelensky

Zelensky said this in an interview with Fox News, according to Ukrinform.

"I just had a phone call with President Trump, and we spoke about different topics. Of course, I […] congratulated him, because I think this [ceasefire in the Middle East] is a big success for the United States and a big success for President Trump, his own involvement in this process. […] This is a real success. And he told me very openly that he thought he could manage to stop Putin earlier than he can manage to make a ceasefire in the Middle East. I agreed with him that we have a more difficult situation," Zelensky said.

According to the president, this decision "gives us a signal and hope that with such pressure that President Trump used in the Middle East to make peace and I hope that he will use the same instruments even more to pressure Putin to stop his war in Ukraine."

Zelensky said that Ukraine currently needs two things: an air defense shield and long-range weapons.

"We need real air defense, a real number of [air defense] systems, and just to show Putin that America supports us and really saves us," he said.

Commenting on long-range weapons, Zelensky noted that this depends on domestic production as well as U.S. supplies: "Because the United States has Tomahawks and other things that can be used against the military sector."

The president recalled that Iran has provided Russia with licenses to produce drones and trained Russian personnel, while North Korea supplied Russia with a significant amount of artillery.

"Yes, we are a strong country, but not so big to be against Russia, and Iranians, and North Koreans. This is too much. That's why we spoke about Tomahawks and other things," he said.

Zelensky added that "we count on such decisions."

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine