In private conversation, Trump urged Zelenskyy to take"bolder" stance towards Russia, - Kyiv Independent
During a meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump stated that he did not believe Russia was prepared to end the war without pressure, and therefore called on Ukraine to act "more boldly".
The Kyiv Independent reports this, citing an unnamed senior Ukrainian official and US officials, according to Censor.NET.
US support
According to information obtained by this publication, Ukraine now believes it has managed to secure the White House’s support for a campaign aimed at forcing Russia to engage in constructive peace talks.
At the same time, US officials did not confirm whether Trump explicitly supports Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, but said that he "believes in peace through strength".
"Trump says he doesn’t really believe that (Vladimir) Putin will do anything at all without pressure," added the source.
Ukrainian officials believe that Ukraine’s recent strikes against Russia have helped convince Trump that Kyiv is now in a stronger position than it was at the start of this year — this was reflected in the final declaration of the G7 summit, in which all the G7 countries, including the US, agreed to support Ukraine and tighten sanctions against the Kremlin.
During a meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the summit, Zelenskyy proposed organising a meeting between himself and Putin in the US, suggesting that the Russian dictator – who had so far avoided a face-to-face meeting – would find it harder to turn down an invitation from the US president.
US officials confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that such a proposal had been put forward by Kyiv, but cautioned that such a meeting was not expected in the "near future".
What led up to it?
- As a reminder, on Sunday, 14 June, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, held a telephone conversation with the US President, Donald Trump.
- It has also emerged that on 14 June, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump. They agreed on a visit to Russia by US special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
- On 16 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. This was the first face-to-face meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump in almost four months.
