Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Tuesday interview that he does not need “primitive” ideas from former President Trump on ways to resolve the war with Russia.
In an interview with Axel Springer media outlets, including Politico, Zelensky said he was open to hearing Trump’s proposals for the war, but, he said, “If the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that’s the idea behind it, then it’s a very primitive idea.”
“I need very strong arguments. I don’t need a fantastic idea. I need a real idea because people’s lives are at stake,” Zelensky added.
The interview comes after The Washington Post reported this weekend that Trump has privately said his plan to end the war in Ukraine would include pressuring the war-torn country to give up territory, including Crimea and the Donbas border region, to Russia.
That’s actually a nice way of putting it. The more precise word is “stupid.” I don’t know if Trump thinks he can just tell Ukraine what to do but I wouldn’t be surprised. He might even think they’ll happily go along with his brilliant “idea” (also called surrender) just because he’s got such huge hands that they can’t deny him anything he wants. In reality, his “plan” is nothing more than capitulation and a green light to Vladimir Putin to “do whatever the hell he wants” as Trump once said he would encourage.
Zelensky shows a lot more spine than most Republicans. Saying this publicly is risky what with the funding on the line and the Republicans shoving each other out of the way to lick Trump’s boots. But good for him. It’s refreshing to hear it.