Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he would not accept any agreements made between the United States and Russia regarding Ukraine without his country’s direct involvement.
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, Zelenskyy insisted that any peace deal negotiated solely by the US and Russia would be unacceptable for his country.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never,” Zelenskyy told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker on Friday during an interview in Munich, Germany. “This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses.” Zelenskyy was in town for the Munich Security Conference.
The comments come amid concerns over the future of US support for Ukraine following Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. Zelenskyy urged European allies to be part of any negotiations and warned that a US withdrawal from NATO could have dire consequences. Citing Ukrainian intelligence reports on Russian military activity in Belarus, Zelenskyy suggested that Russia could escalate its aggression beyond Ukraine and into NATO countries.
“Knowing that he did not succeed in occupying us, we do not know where he will go. There are risks that this can be Poland and Lithuania, because we believe — we believe that Putin will wage war against NATO,” Zelenskyy claimed.
Zelenskyy reaffirmed comments he made to Vice President JD Vance when the two met on Friday, arguing that a US withdrawal from NATO would be “the destroying of NATO.” Zelenskyy argued that European NATO members lack the military capability to defend themselves without US support, particularly countries that were previously part of the Soviet Union Putin may have an interest in.
“They will begin from those countries … small countries who’ve been in the USSR, in the Soviet Union,” Zelenskyy said. “But Europe will not answer, because they don’t have — they will begin to defend itself. Each country defends itself.”
Earlier in the week, Trump revealed on Truth Social that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine. Trump said that both he and Putin agreed they “want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”
“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately,” Trump explained.
Zelenskyy credited Trump in the interview and his potential influence in pressuring Putin toward a peace deal. Zelenskyy said that Putin “doesn’t want peace,” but that “he’s really a little bit scared about President Trump.”
“I think the president has this chance and he’s strong, and I think that really he can push Putin to peace negotiations,” Zeleneksyy stated.
