Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, after the former US president claimed he could end Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine war within 24 hours if he wins reelection next year. <\/p>\n
Zelensky questioned Trump\u2019s claim in an interview with NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that aired Sunday, and invited him to visit Ukraine to see the scale of Russia\u2019s invasion himself. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf he can come here, I will need 24 minutes \u2013 yes, 24 minutes\u2026 to explain (to) President Trump that he can\u2019t manage this war. He can\u2019t bring peace because of Putin,\u201d Zelensky said. <\/p>\n
Zelensky also praised President Joe Biden for visiting Ukraine earlier this year, saying \u201cI think he understood some details which you can understand only being here. So I invite President Trump.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zelensky\u2019s comments came after Ukraine\u2019s top commander last week warned the war had entered a \u201cstalemate,\u201d and as he is fighting to maintain his hard-won support in a world distracted by conflict in the Middle East, and with US lawmakers divided over whether to continue funding Ukraine\u2019s war effort. <\/p>\n
Ukraine\u2019s military chief, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, wrote in a long essay for The Economist that \u201cjust like in the First World War we have reached the level of technology that put us into a stalemate.\u201d <\/p>\n
While Ukraine has resisted Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion for more than 20 months, Zaluzhny wrote that without a massive technological leap to break the deadlock, \u201cthere will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough.\u201d <\/p>\n
Since launching its counteroffensive in early summer, Ukraine has managed to retake just a sliver of land, rebuffed by nearly 1,000 kilometers of heavily fortified Russian defenses. Russia still occupies nearly one-fifth of Ukraine, and in recent weeks has launched fresh offensives in the east, around Avdviika and Vuhledar in Donetsk and near Kupyansk in Kharkiv. <\/p>\n
Zaluzhny said that the conflict had entered \u201cwhat we in the military call \u2018positional\u2019 warfare of static and attritional fighting\u2026 in contrast to the \u2018manoeuvre\u2019 warfare of movement and speed.\u201d He warned this will benefit Russia, giving it time to rebuild its military power for renewed assaults on Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Asked by NBC if he accepted his top general\u2019s characterization, Zelensky said \u201cthe situation is difficult,\u201d but did not think the war had reached a \u201cstalemate.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe hold the initiative in our hands. You can imagine what a full-scale war or what two years of a full-scale war is like. Everybody gets tired. Even the iron gets tired. But, nevertheless, I am proud of our warriors and of our people, that they are strong\u2026 Our people have a strong desire to win,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Zelensky also pointed to Ukraine\u2019s successes in the Black Sea and in Crimea, the annexed peninsula that is a vital artery for resupplying Russian troops in mainland Ukraine. \u201cThe Russian fleet is being destroyed by our ammunition,\u201d Zelensky told NBC, after a number of successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian warships and Crimean ports over the summer. <\/p>\n
But convincing his allies of the possibility of victory is becoming increasingly difficult for Zelensky, as the world\u2019s attention pivots to war in the Middle East, and amid warnings from Congress that US funding for Ukraine may soon run dry. <\/p>\n
The White House has made clear that the amount of money the US has available for Ukraine military aid is quickly running out, as new House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Senate remain at odds over the Biden administration\u2019s request to pass more than $100 billion in national security funding. President Biden urged Congress to pass the supplemental bill, which includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine and $14.3 billion for Israel, as a \u201ccomprehensive, bipartisan agreement.\u201d <\/p>\n
Zelensky argues that Ukraine\u2019s fight against Russia is in the US\u2019 national security interests. He told NBC that American soldiers could eventually be dragged into a broader European conflict with Russia if Washington\u2019s support faltered. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf Russia will kill all of us, they will attack NATO countries, and you will send your sons and daughters. And it will be \u2013 I\u2019m sorry, but the price will be higher,\u201d Zelensky said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to understand, just come to Ukraine and see. We are the same people. We have the same values,\u201d he said when asked why US lawmakers should approve further military aid to Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Congress\u2019s reluctance to approve additional spending for Ukraine comes as a number of Republican presidential candidates \u2013 and other western officials \u2013 have argued that Ukraine should enter peace negotiations with Russia to bring the war to an end. <\/p>\n
Zelensky, who has long opposed the idea of peace talks, told NBC: \u201cI am not ready to speak with the terrorists because their word is nothing. Nothing. We can\u2019t trust terrorists because terrorists always come back, always come back.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, after the former US president claimed he could end Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine war within 24 hours if he wins reelection next year. Zelensky questioned Trump\u2019s claim in an interview with NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that aired Sunday, and invited him to visit Ukraine to <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":11240,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}