“Trump has no peace plan.” Key takeaways from Zelensky’s interview with The Economist

President Volodymyr Zelensky is confident that the US President Donald Trump does not have a ready-made peace plan to end the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, because no one has consulted with Ukraine on this matter and has not made any proposals.

He stated this in an interview with The Economist. Babel retells the main theses.

Of the contacts between the Ukrainian and American presidents, these are only “a few calls” after a personal meeting in September 2024. Zelensky is not informed about the contacts between the new US administration and the Kremlin. Everything he knows about it, he learns from the news. Therefore, in Ukraine, there are fears that Trump and Putin may conclude an agreement without taking into account Ukrainian interests.

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky plans to meet with US Vice President JD Vance at the Munich Security Conference, which begins on February 14. They will exchange views and positions. Zelensky wants to warn Americans not to ignore Ukraine, because that was and is Putinʼs goal.

"If Russia is left alone with the United States, Putin with Trump or their teams, they will receive manipulative information," the Ukrainian president emphasized.

Zelensky also expressed concern about some signals from the Trump team. For example, in January, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that both Russia and Ukraine should make “concessions” for the sake of peace. Zelensky is convinced that too much is being demanded of a non-aggressor, and the compromise is that Kyiv is ready to negotiate with a “killer” (provided that there are reliable security guarantees and effective mechanisms for protecting against future Russian aggression).

"Imagine that Hitler was not destroyed... Imagine that after everything he did to the Jews... people said: okay, letʼs look for a compromise," Zelensky said, adding that Putin is behaving like Hitler, and the wrong diplomacy would rehabilitate him.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky admits that Ukraineʼs membership in NATO is unlikely due to opposition from the US, Germany and Hungary, although the latter, according to him, would agree if Trump asked for it. And if the door remains closed, Ukraine must "build NATO on its territory", that is, strengthen the army, receive long-range missiles, Patriot air defense systems.

The President of Ukraine warns those who believe that quick ceasefire agreements that are not in Ukraineʼs favor will make their lives easier. According to him, this is a delusion.

“Nobody understands what war is until it comes to your house. I don’t want to scare anyone. It will come. I’m just telling you the facts... Why doesn’t anyone think it will happen?” he said.

Russia is increasing the size of its army — by 140 000 last year and by 150 000 this year. Zelensky knows of plans to send most of them to Belarus under the pretext of training. This was the case before the full-scale invasion. Therefore, there is an assumption that these troops could attack Ukraine or even Lithuania or Poland. Russia currently has 220 brigades, while Europe has 80. Ukraine has 110.

Zelensky rejects criticism of insufficient mobilization, noting that last year 30,000 new recruits were recruited to the Defense Forces of Ukraine every month.

"I think, it was a lot," he summed up.

On the subject of the elections in Ukraine, Zelensky is skeptical of comments by Trump’s special representative for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogh that Ukraine could hold elections during the war: “It’s interesting when General Kellogg thinks about elections. He’s 82 [actually 80] years old, and he thinks about elections in Ukraine”. The president insists that the government has not corrupted him. And he says that this is what, ultimately, distinguishes him from the man in the Kremlin.

"I have time, but he doesnʼt. He will definitely die soon," Zelensky said.

And he emphasized that he would not allow Putin to use the new American presidency to push Ukraine aside and defeat it.

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