Trump said that Ukraine and Zelensky “want a deal” and called for a ceasefire

After a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and against the background of news about the overthrow of Bashar al-Assadʼs regime in Syria, the US President-elect Donald Trump announced Kyivʼs desire to conclude an agreement and "stop the madness".

He wrote about this on his Truth Social social network.

"Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make an agreement and stop the madness. They senselessly lost 400 000 soldiers and many more civilians," his post reads.

Donald Trump called for an "immediate ceasefire and negotiations" because "too many lives have been wasted" and if this continues, "it could turn into something much bigger and much worse". According to him, China will help with negotiations.

As for Russia, the politician calls such losses in the war — 600 000 killed and wounded. He believes that this is the reason why the Russian Federation is not interested in protecting Bashar Assadʼs regime in Syria.

"Russia and Iran are now in a weakened state, one because of Ukraine and the poor economy, the other because of Israel and its military successes," Trump wrote.

He ended his post with the words "The world is waiting!".

• Ukraine and Russia give almost no information about their losses in the war. In February 2024, Zelensky declared the number of dead Ukrainian soldiers — 31 000. According to the General Staff, the Russian Federation lost more than 753 000 soldiers killed and wounded.
• The day before, on December 7, during a visit to Paris, Zelensky held a meeting with the US President-elect Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. Zelensky said that the situation on the battlefield and a just peace for Ukraine were discussed at the meeting.
• On the morning of December 8, it became known that the Syrian rebels entered the capital of Syria, Damascus, and overthrew the regime of President Bashar Assad.

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