Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that official Kyiv does not share the United States’ assessment of Russia’s willingness to cease military aggression against Ukraine. In his interview with the French publication Le Monde, he stressed that Ukraine does not see any “genuine desire” from the Russian side to end the war, while Washington is convinced that “Putin wants the war to stop.”
This is reported by Kyiv24
Differences in Approaches Between Kyiv and Washington
Zelensky noted that differences in views on this issue are natural; however, they significantly impact the future actions of allies. According to the Ukrainian leader, to achieve peace, pressure on the Russian Federation must be intensified, as “we know that Putin does not want to end the war.” In contrast, the US believes that Russia is demonstrating a willingness for peace, and therefore additional pressure may be unnecessary.
“Our views here are absolutely different. On one hand, it’s not a problem – it’s normal for opinions to diverge. But on the other hand, when we want to stop the war and accelerate this process, we raise the issue of pressure on Russia. We know that Putin does not want to stop the war. We are calling for additional pressure to make him want that. But the US believes that he wants to stop it, so why apply additional pressure if Russia is also showing that it is ready for peace? There are different views on certain issues, and that is what we need to work on,” Zelensky said
Donald Trump’s Statements and War Negotiations
Recall that earlier in March, US President Donald Trump expressed the opinion that Volodymyr Zelensky is not demonstrating sufficient resolve to initiate negotiations that could end the Russian-Ukrainian war. Trump also stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “ready to make a deal” to end the conflict. At the same time, the American president did not explain what factors are preventing Zelensky from reaching agreements, but emphasized that “the President of Ukraine needs to take action and make a deal.”
Trump reiterated his thesis that the Ukrainian side does not have enough leverage to achieve the desired outcome: “It is unthinkable for him to be an obstacle. You have no cards. Now he has even fewer cards.”
In January and February 2026, several rounds of trilateral negotiations involving Ukraine, the US, and Russia took place to seek ways to end the war. Although specific results from these meetings have not been reported, the negotiations on February 5 resulted in an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war, marking the first such exchange in the last five months.
The next meeting, which was planned for early March in Abu Dhabi, has been postponed indefinitely due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.