Zelensky: Trump Ukraine statements are ‘election messages’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he thinks former President Trump’s comments about solving the war in Ukraine are “election messages.”

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Zelensky was asked what he makes of Trump’s claim that if he were president, he would solve the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours.

“I can’t understand today, because I don’t know the details of what he means and what does it mean,” Zelensky replied. “So, my position [is] that [it is a] election period, and the election messages are election messages.”

Zelensky said he thinks that sometimes Trump’s election messages are “not very real.”

The Ukrainian president and Trump have exchanged in a back-and-forth publicly about Trump’s comments.

The former president said in March 2023 that, if he wins in November, he would “solve” the war in one day by working with Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump has touted his relationship with Putin as an avenue to end the war, though Putin recently joked he favors Trump’s opponent, Vice President Harris, to win.

Zelensky says he has a plan for Ukraine to win the war and rebuild after it ends, which he plans to share with President Biden, as well as Harris and Trump.

“It may sound too ambitious for some, but it is an important plan for us,” he said last month.

Zelensky told Zakaria that he had a “good conversation” with Trump over the phone about two months ago.

“He will be very supportive,” Zelensky said. “He understands how it’s difficult to survive during the war and he will do everything to strengthen Ukraine.”

During his debate with Harris earlier this month, Trump repeatedly declined to say that he wanted Ukraine to win the war against Russia.