Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants to first meet with his future American counterpart Donald Trump to negotiate a peace plan before proceeding with any negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
"First with Trump, we will agree with him how to end the war, how to stop Putin", Zelensky explained his position in a three-hour interview with American podcaster Lex Friedman. He stressed that it is "very important that Europe has a voice" in the discussions.
"We will reach an agreement with Trump - and I am sure that he will be able to offer Europe strong security guarantees - and then we will be able to talk to the Russians," Zelensky summed up. He confirmed that he expects the future US president, who will take office on January 20, to end the war that began nearly three years ago.
The security guarantees for Ukraine will be effective only if they are provided by the United States, Zelensky stressed at the same time, quoted by Reuters.
"Without the United States, security guarantees are not possible. I mean such security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression," he said in the interview.
Thus, the Ukrainian president tacitly admitted that his country's European allies are too weak militarily to be able to give such guarantees, Reuters notes.
"I'm just saying that if (the United States leaves NATO under Trump), Putin will destroy Europe," he also warned.
Zelensky claims that Putin is not interested in serious negotiations to end the war and therefore it is necessary to force him to stop Russian aggression and agree to a lasting peace, Reuters points out.
The Ukrainian president also confided in the interview that he had offered Trump Kiev to receive frozen Russian assets worth a total of $300 billion, with which to buy American weapons, he reported. Ukrinform.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported strong explosions near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
This coincides with reports of a drone attack on the training center at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russia in March 2022 - shortly after the start of the war.
According to reports, there were no casualties or damage at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. He specified that the training center at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located just outside its perimeter.
There are regular shelling in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, for which both sides in the conflict blame each other.