Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded Sunday to former President Trump’s claims that he could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours if elected to the White House.
“It seems to me that the sole desire to bring the war to an end is beautiful,” Zelensky told Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week” through a translator. “But this desire should be based on some real-life experience. Well, it looks as if Donald Trump had already these 24 hours once in his time. We were at war, not a full-scale war, but we were at war, and as I assume, he had that time at his disposal, but he must have had some other priorities.”
“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, Biden could have brought it to an end even in five minutes, but we would not agree,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that if he were president, he could end the Russian war in Ukraine in 24 hours. The former president has also praised Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past, calling him a “genius” shortly after the invasion of Ukraine last year.
Trump has received criticism for his comments from other GOP candidates including former Vice President Mike Pence, who said last month at a town hall that he knows “the difference between a genius and a war criminal.”
When asked what he would say to Americans who may say the U.S. has given enough aid to Ukraine, Zelensky said that when they have enough to win the war, then the aid will “be enough.”
“When it comes to the word ‘enough,’ well, we, Ukrainians, are not people known for excessive appetites,” he said. “Our victory is enough for us. Honestly, when we have enough for our victory, then it will be enough.”