Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on US President Donald Trump to come to Ukraine and assess the devastation caused there by Russia, Agence France-Presse reported. The Ukrainian leader made the call in an interview broadcast on the American television network “CBS“.
It was recorded before the Russian missile strike in Sumy, which killed 34 people and injured 117, Agence France-Presse notes.
Addressing Trump directly, Zelensky said: "We want you to come and see. You think you understand what's happening here. Very good, we respect your decision. But please, before you make any decision, before any form of negotiation, come and see the people, the civilians, the military, the hospitals, the churches, the children, the destruction or the dead. Come, see, and then we will move forward with a plan to end the war,” Zelensky said. “You will understand what Putin has done,” he added.
While Trump seems to be losing patience with Vladimir Putin, who has not accepted his offer of a ceasefire, Zelensky believes that Putin cannot be trusted.
“I told President Trump several times: “Putin will never want to stop the war. He never wanted us to be independent. Putin wants to completely destroy us,” Zelensky said.
Asked during the interview about Trump’s February call that Zelensky was a dictator and Trump’s view that Kiev had provoked the war, Zelensky expressed regret that the Russian point of view was prevailing in the United States.
“This is indicative of the enormous influence of Russian information policy in America, on US politics and on politicians,“ he said.