‘Powerful and unpredictable’: Zelensky says these Trump traits could help end war with Russia

US President-elect Donald Trump is “strong and unpredictable”, and these qualities could be a deciding factor in his political approach to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

However, Zelensky said it would not be possible to end nearly three years of war in one day, as Trump claimed during his election campaign that he could do.

“The ‘hot’ phase of the war could end very quickly if Trump is strong in his position,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian television late Thursday, referring to the fighting on the battlefield.

“I think (Trump) is strong and unpredictable. I would very much like President Trump’s unpredictability to be directed primarily toward the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said.

Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not publicly clarified his policy on Ukraine, but his previous comments have put a question mark over whether the United States will remain Ukraine’s largest and most important military backer.

Zelensky is keen to ensure Washington’s continued support, and he met with Trump in New York even before the US presidential election last November.

The course of the war is not in Ukraine’s favor

As the war approaches its fourth year next month, and with Trump coming to power, the question of how and when the largest conflict in Europe since World War II may end has come to the fore.

Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine and last year exploited weaknesses in Ukrainian defenses to slowly advance into the eastern regions despite heavy losses in troops and equipment.

The course of the war is not in Ukraine’s favor. The country suffers from a lack of resources on the front line and needs continuous support from its Western partners.

Zelensky said that Trump responded positively to the possibility raised by French President Emmanuel Macron regarding the deployment of Western peacekeeping forces in Ukraine to supervise an agreement that would stop the fighting. Trump and Macron met in Paris last month.

“But I raised the issue of saying that we have not heard what specific countries will join this initiative, and whether the United States will be there,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader intends for his country to become a member of NATO. The alliance’s 32 member states say Ukraine will join one day, but not before the war ends.

“The deployment of European forces (to keep peace in Ukraine) should not rule out Ukraine’s future in NATO,” Zelensky said in the television interview.

Zelensky described the incursion of Ukrainian forces into the Russian border region of Kursk as a “very strong trump card” in any future peace negotiations.

In an attempt to counter bleak news from the front lines, Ukraine seized part of Kursk last August in what was the first occupation of Russian territory since World War II.

But the incursion has not significantly changed the dynamic of the war, and military analysts say Ukraine has lost about 40 percent of the territory it initially seized.

However, Zelensky said the achievement impressed countries in Asia, South America and Africa and tarnished Russia’s military reputation.

“The stability of the front was extremely important.”

Zelensky also said he wants to make sure that any US settlement plan takes Ukraine’s views into account.

“It cannot be otherwise. We are Ukraine, this is our independence, our land and our future,” he added. He also expressed his hope that the Trump administration would be able to quickly establish contacts with Russia. Putin said that Moscow is open to talks, but must take into account the gains Russia has achieved in the war and its annexation of four Ukrainian regions.

With Russian forces taking control of village after village on the eastern front in their fastest advance since the February 2022 invasion, Zelensky said stabilizing the front was crucial.

“They are putting pressure on our exhausted youth and this is a fact. We will do our best to stabilize the front at least in January,” he said.

Zelensky, who was elected in 2019, reiterated that new elections cannot be held as long as the wartime state of emergency remains in place, but said he would consider running again as soon as circumstances allow.

He added: “I do not know how this war will end.” He added, “If I could do more than I can, I would probably look at such a decision (to seek a new term) more positively. At the moment this is not a goal for me.”