Quotes
You have leadership now that's allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened, even without the United States,
Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Tuesday –
You should have ended it – three years, you should have never started it,
he said, appearing to blame Zelensky for Russia's 2022 invasionAnd if they want a seat at the table well the people of Ukraine could well it's a long time since we've had an election. That's not a Russia thing, that's something coming from me and many other countries as well.
reports the Mirror
We have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we essentially have martial law,
Trump declaredIf they want to do that, that'd be fine."
Trump, speaking from his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, expressed openness to the idea of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine as part of a settlement, telling reportersI know France has mentioned it. Others have mentioned it, the UK has mentioned it."
He addedI think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well. But today I heard 'Oh, well, we weren't invited'. Well, you've been there for three years. You should have ended it three years,
Trump said during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate
I believe President Zelensky said last week that he doesn't know where half of the money is that we gave him,
Trump saidDuring martial law, elections are impossible to hold [...] The leaders of all parties have agreed that elections will not be held until at least six months after the end of martial law,
Arakhamia said
All the frontrunners in the election will be pro-Western, pro-European candidates who want to defend the country against Russia and probably agree on most matters, including on foreign affairs and defense, but have their own kind of domestic political issues where they differ,
said D’Anieri
The only people that come anywhere close to Zelenskyy in the polls are people like General Zaluzhnyi, with really established, patriotic credentials in Ukraine,
said Henry Hale, professor at George Washington University who specializes in public opinion in UkraineA lot of people who are actually critical of him would still vote for him, just so as not to risk changing horses in midstream,
Hale went onZelensky is unlikely to win the elections, if they were to be held in Ukraine, because his popularity dropped significantly at the end of 2024,
said Russian-born U.S. intelligence expert Rebekah KofflerThe only person that benefits from elections before there's a durable peace deal is Putin,
said Andrew D’Anieri, fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia CenterIt is very important for Kellogg to come to Ukraine. Then he would understand the people and all our circumstances,
Zelenskyy said, in comments to The GuardianThe Russians, in turn, will almost certainly run clandestine operations to influence the elections in order to elect a pro-Russian candidate,
Koffler addedZelenskyy's prospects to win the elections are contingent upon the exact terms of the ceasefire, namely, the public perception of them as a ‘victory,’ ‘honorable draw’ or ‘defeat,’
said Ivan Gomza, public policy professor at the Kyiv School of Economics
Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can any conditions be imposed.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, in Turkey on Tuesday, said
Putin has said himself that he would be ready to negotiate with Zelensky if necessary, but the legal basis of agreements needs discussion considering the reality that Zelensky's legitimacy can be questioned,
Peskov said
This is a follow-up on that initial conversation between Putin and President Trump about perhaps if that first step is even possible, what the interests are, if this can be managed.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters