Putin may seek to give Trump diplomatic win before US midterms, Zelensky says
“My feeling (is) that Putin needs Trump,” Zelensky told Axios, adding that the Russian leader does not want to upset the U.S. president.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be seeking to give U.S. President Donald Trump a diplomatic win before the upcoming U.S. midterm elections. This potential move was revealed in an interview with Axios published on September 7. Zelensky's comments come in the wake of renewed U.S.-brokered peace talks led by Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in both Kyiv and Moscow.
Zelensky believes that Putin would prefer not to antagonize Trump, and that the Russian leader may be relying on another difficult winter as a strategy to increase pressure on Ukraine. Despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts, Russia has shown little willingness to compromise, and Zelensky remains skeptical of Moscow's intentions.
The U.S. is exploring possible de-escalation measures ahead of and during the winter, including proposals concerning energy infrastructure, grain shipments, electricity facilities, and oil and gas exports.
Brief written by urgent.news from Kyiv Independent's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
