Zelensky disputes Trump’s assertion that the battle is over

Donald Trump’s assertion that, if re-elected in 2024, he could put an end to Russia’s conflict against Ukraine in less than a day has drawn criticism from Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine.

In an interview with NBC News, Zelensky extended an invitation to President Trump to visit Ukraine so he could personally see the extent of the destruction inflicted by Russia’s invasion since it began in February 2022.

“If he is able to get here, I will need exactly twenty-four minutes to convey to President Trump that he is unable to lead this battle. Because of Putin, he is unable to bring about peace, the Ukrainian leader was cited by CNN as saying during the interview.

Speaking to CNN in May, the former president said that if he had been in office when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, the war would not have broken out and that, should he be reelected, he could have ended the fight in a single day.

“I’ll get that conflict resolved in a single day, if I become president. I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to see Zelensky. Both of them have advantages and disadvantages. And that conflict will be over in a day,” he told CNN.

Zelensky gave US President Joe Biden kudos for visiting Ukraine earlier this year during the NBC News interview, adding, “I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here.” Thus, President Trump is invited.

Due to roughly 1,000 kilometers of well reinforced Russian defenses, Ukraine has only been able to reclaim a small portion of the area since it began its counteroffensive earlier this year.

Russia continues to occupy over one-fifth of Ukraine, and in recent weeks, new offensives have been started in the east, in the vicinity of Kupyansk in Kharkiv and Avdviika and Vuhledar in Donetsk.

Zelensky described the state of affairs as “tough,” but he did not believe that the battle had come to a “stalemate.”

“We are the ones in control of the initiative. You may envision what it would be like to fight a full-scale battle, or to fight one for two years. We are all fatigued. Even irons become weary. Nevertheless, I am proud of our people and their fighters because they are resilient. Our people are driven to victory.