Zelensky says grateful for Trump’s ‘strong resolve’ to end war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday he was grateful for Donald Trump’s “strong resolve” to end the war in Ukraine, after meeting the US president-elect in Paris last week.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, as fears grow in Kyiv about the level of support Ukraine will receive under the incoming US administration.

“The most important thing is to work together on how to end this war — that is our top priority. During the meeting in Paris, this was exactly what we focused on,” Zelensky said in a post early Tuesday on social media platform X.

“I reiterate my gratitude to President Macron for organizing it, as well as my deep gratitude to President Trump for his strong resolve to bring this war to a fair end,” the Ukrainian leader added.

Trump has long claimed he will settle the nearly three-year conflict in “24 hours” once in power, raising alarm in Ukraine that it will be forced to make huge territorial concessions in exchange for peace.

On Sunday, the Republican called for an “immediate ceasefire”, writing on his Truth Social platform that Zelensky was ready to “make a deal and stop the madness”.

Zelensky also rejected calls to lower the draft age, following reports US officials want Ukraine to expand the pool of fighting-age men to include 18-year-olds.

“We must focus on equipping existing brigades and training personnel to use this equipment. We must not compensate the lack of equipment and training with the youth of soldiers,” he said in the same post Tuesday.