In an interview that aired on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited former President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to prove he can “stop the war in 24 hours.”
Trump, the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination, has said on more than one occasion that if he were still in the White House, he could bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end in one day. Most recently, he stated after winning the Iowa primary earlier this week that if he wins the 2024 election, he would end the conflict “very quickly.”
Zelensky has previously addressed these claims by Trump, telling ABC’s This Week in July that “if we are talking about ending the war at the cost of Ukraine, in other words to make us give up our territories, well, I think, in this way, [President Joe] Biden could have brought it to an end even in five minutes, but we would not agree.”
Photos by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
During an interview that aired Friday on the British Channel 4 News, broadcaster Matt Frei asked Zelensky what he would say directly to Trump now.
“Donald Trump, I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv. So if you can stop the war during 24 hours, I think it will be enough to come,” Zelensky said.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Trump via email on Friday night for comment.
The Ukrainian leader then said that he realizes Trump’s comments about the war are typical words candidates may say during elections.
When Frei asked Zelensky if he was “frightened” about Trump winning reelection given he makes such statements, the president explained why he feels Trump’s words are “dangerous.”
“He will make decisions on his own without—I am not even talking about Russia—but without both sides, without us,” Zelensky said. “I will now talk about us. Why? Because if he says this publicly, it’s a little scary. Although I’ve seen a lot and lot of victims, but it really stresses me out a bit.
President Zelenskyy tells @mattfrei that he invites Donald Trump to Ukraine – if he can ‘stop the war in 24 hours’, a comment the former US President has made about the Russia-Ukraine war. pic.twitter.com/0xNDoSkE34
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) January 19, 2024
“Because it means that if his idea [of ending the war quickly], which no one has heard about, if his idea will not work for us, for our people, then he will do everything to achieve the implementation of his idea anyway. And this is what worries me a little.”
Elsewhere in the Channel 4 News interview, Zelensky expressed his gratitude for the aid provided by his Western allies, especially the United States. However, he said he thinks they could still “help us more to win.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.