Although the president-elect has refused to say if he would fully support Ukraine — and has previously expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin — Zelenskyy has expressed confidence in maintaining US support for Kyiv under the incoming administration.
In a radio interview Saturday, Zelenskyy said the war would end “faster” with Trump in the White House, and added that the incoming president has not directly proposed anything that would be counter to Ukraine’s goals.
Zelenskyy has reportedly offered the US and other allies access to Ukraine’s natural resources and to replace US troops stationed in Europe with Ukrainian ones once the war ends — signaling an “astute” understanding about how the Ukrainian leader might make a deal with Trump, according to an international affairs expert.