Zelenskyi responds to Trump’s claims, touching upon the approval ratings, end of Putin’s isolation, and security guarantees. The UK eyes sending Typhoon fighter jets to police the skies over Ukraine. A Russian drone attack cuts power, heat to thousands in Odesa.
Zelenskyi responds to Trump’s claims, touching upon approval ratings, end of Putin’s isolation, security guarantees
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday morning, offering his response to a series of claims that U.S. President Donald Trump made a day earlier. Here are the highlights of what he said.
1. Trump’s claim that Zelenskyi’s approval rating is four per cent is Russian disinformation, the Ukrainian leader said.
“We have seen this disinformation, we understand that it comes from Russia. We have evidence that these numbers are being discussed between America and Russia. Unfortunately, President Trump — I have great respect for him as the leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us — but President Trump, unfortunately, is living in this disinformation space,” Zelenskyi said.
2. Zelenskyi promised to release the results from a survey showing Ukrainian views of world leaders.
The Ukrainian president said he would release the results from a survey showing Ukrainians’ approval ratings for world leaders, including Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders of the partner nations in the coming weeks.
3. The U.S. enables Russia to emerge from its long-time isolation, Zelenskyi said.
“I would like Trump’s team to have more truth [about Ukraine]. All of this doesn’t affect Ukraine in a positive way. They are letting Putin out of isolation, and I think Putin and the Russians are really happy because they are involved in discussions,” the Ukrainian president said.
4. He said he now sees Russia treated as if it were a victim.
“Yesterday there were signals that they are the victims. That is something new,” Zelenskyi said.
5. Zelenskyi told the news conference that the U.S. had given Ukraine USD 67 billion in weapons and USD 31.5 billion in direct budget support.
He said the war has so far cost USD 320 billion, around USD 200 billion of which had come from the U.S. and EU. Ukrainians shouldered the rest of the costs of around USD 120 billion. Washington had supplied the country with USD 67 billion in weapons, Zelenskyi said.
6. Reports that 90 per cent of all aid received by Ukraine comes from the United States are erroneous.
“The story that 90 per cent of Ukraine’s support had come from the U.S. — we understand that the truth is somewhere else, while we are surely grateful for the support,” the Ukrainian president said.
7. Ukraine wants no security guarantees from Russia. Security guarantees depend on NATO allies only, Zelenskyi said.
“We do not need a Russian [peacekeeping] contingent. We do not ask air defenses of the Russians. We are asking for protection from them, that’s why we are only calling upon our partners,” Zelenskyi explained.
8. “We want security guarantees this year, because we want to end the war this year,” the Ukrainian leader said.
9. Ukraine produces domestically around 30 per cent of the weapons it uses on the battlefield. It will be further ramping up its production.
“We currently produce 30 per cent of the entire package of [weapons] we need. This is not sufficient, but it is not too little and it is more than what any single EU country manufactures today,” Zelenskyi said.
Ukraine now focuses on production of drones, electronic warfare systems, and artillery, he added.
10. When asked about security guarantees and the form they could take, Zelenskyi said that Ukraine lacks missiles for air defense batteries. It would like to obtain a license to domestically produce missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, Zelenskyi said.
11. Ukraine is ready to sign a “serious deal” on rare earth minerals, Zelenskyi said.
Ukraine needs security guarantees, while the proposed deal did not contain them.
“The draft was unclear. It clearly stated just one thing: we need to give [the U.S.] half of what was listed in the deal. I am ready to make this document public,” Zelenskyi said.
12. Commenting on a visit of Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, to Kyiv, Zelenskyi said: “It is very important for me that he himself walks in Kyiv, other cities.”
Zelenskyi said that Kellogg “earlier said that 20-30 per cent of the capital was gone, everything ruined. I want him to see everything for himself,” adding that he was ready to go to the front line with Kellogg. He also said there were meetings planned with Ukraine’s defense intelligence and security service, if he is so inclined.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for the war and falsely suggested Zelenskyi’s popularity rating was as low as four per cent. He also increased pressure on Zelenskyi to hold elections.
Following Tuesday’s talks between the U.S. and Russia in Saudi Arabia to which neither Ukraine nor European nations were invited, Trump made a series of statements on Ukraine that echoed Russia’s propaganda.
UK eyes sending Typhoon fighter jets to police skies over Ukraine
Britain is prepared to send Typhoon fighter jets to police the skies over Ukraine to help secure peace, The Times said on Wednesday.
British ministers have discussed ways to provide security guarantees without the need for large numbers of troops on the ground.
The Times cited a “senior government source” as saying that an “air policing” mission for Ukraine would make sense, although also warning that it would need significant numbers of aircraft, as well as ground-based air defense systems to protect the jets on the ground, The War Zone said.
The same report suggests that British ministers have already discussed ways to provide security guarantees to Ukraine without the need for large numbers of troops on the ground. With that in mind, one proposal involves potentially “dozens” of U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons that would monitor Russian air activity and help protect a “smaller peacekeeping force of troops” from the United Kingdom and other European countries on the ground.
An unnamed Royal Air Force source told The Times that an air policing mission was more likely than a no-fly zone of the kind that would normally serve to sanitize airspace above an area that does not benefit from a line of control.
The UK-led mission could be similar to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission.
Britain believes that a European-led security guarantee to Ukraine could be provided with a few tens of thousands troops, the Guardian said Wednesday.
An earlier report by The Washington Post said that the latest iteration under discussion envisions a European “reassurance” or “deterrence” force of a few brigades, possibly 25,000 to 30,000 troops. France has done more advanced military planning than others and estimates that it could commit nearly 10,000 troops.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has doubts about deploying European troops to Ukraine, a government source said Tuesday, after she joined other European leaders for emergency talks in Paris.
Russian drone attack cuts power, heat to thousands in Odesa
Russia unleashed a massive drone attack on Odesa overnight on Wednesday, cutting power and water supply, and knocking out heating to thousands of residents.
The drone attack injured four people, including a child. They were all taken to hospital in fair condition, the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Kiper said.
He added that the strike damaged a children’s clinic, kindergarten, apartment buildings and cars.
Emergency power cuts were introduced in some areas around Odesa. Critical infrastructure sites were powered by generators, Kiper added.
