Zelenskyy notes difference in views with USA on Russia's willingness to end war
Ukraine and the United States hold differing views on the conclusion of the Russia-Ukraine war, as the American side believes Russia also seeks peace, similar to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated, noting this is an issue that must be addressed.
"We do not see a sincere desire from Russia to end the war, and we share this with our partners. The United States believes that Putin wants the war to end. Here, we have absolutely different views. On one hand, it is normal to have differing perspectives. But on the other hand, when we want to end the war and accelerate this process, we raise the issue of pressure on Russia," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Le Monde, the text of which was posted on the head of state’s Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to him, the Ukrainian side "knows that Putin does not want to end the war" and therefore "asks for additional pressure so that he would want to." "But America believes that he wants to, so why extra pressure if Russia shows they are also ready for peace? There are different views on certain things, and we must work with this," the head of state explained.
Zelenskyy noted that the collective sanctions policy of various countries directly impacted the reduction of Russia’s capabilities by cutting energy revenues. This caused the Russian budget deficit to increase, reaching a maximum at the beginning of this year; however, this pressure decreased following the easing of sanctions on Russian energy.
"At the end of 2025, the Russians had an 83 billion deficit, plus 19 that they carried over to the beginning of 2026. According to our forecasts, the deficit for 2026 was supposed to be around $100 billion. Now, after the easing of sanctions for the energy sector of the Russian Federation—specifically regarding petroleum products—their earnings are measured in billions," the President said.
He emphasized that this "certainly does not help reduce the intensity of hostilities in Ukraine, nor in Iran, because Russia will use various means to assist the Iranian regime."
Zelenskyy expressed conviction that Russia will ultimately lose the war, but the availability of funds allows Russia to continue. "Will they decide to go for a major mobilization? I cannot say. So far, they have feared such steps and have only moved toward contracting people for large sums of money. Why do we react so sensitively to the lifting of sanctions? Because it is money. And money is not just tanks. No one fights with tanks alone anymore. Money is drones. Money is people. People are contracts. And if they have no money for contracts, their forces diminish," he stated.
"Historically, the Russians will lose, one hundred percent. They are currently losing a terrifying number of people—30,000 to 35,000 people per month. Russia cannot keep up with mobilizing, signing contracts, and certainly cannot keep up with training its people," Zelenskyy added.
