Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Newsmax on Friday that he’s unsure if President Donald Trump can do anything diplomatically to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression, but that he does know what it’ll take: sanctions.
“Only by losing money will [Putin] be unable to grow his army or increase military spending. That will lead to internal problems. That is a fact. To achieve this, sanctions must be imposed,” Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview with Newsmax foreign correspondent Shelby Wilder that aired Friday.
Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have been crafting bipartisan legislation that would sanction key Russian officials as well as penalize countries that do business with Moscow. However, it was reported last week that the White House has been lobbying behind the scenes to temper the measure.
“No one has been able to stop Putin, and we have not completely stopped him on the battlefield. The war is not over yet. But when it comes to diplomatic influence, no one has managed to do anything with Putin so far,” Zelenskyy said. “He has not lost his desire to simply capture and destroy us.“
“I am 100% sure that this is his doctrine, that he wants this very, very much. He wants Ukraine, but he wants to see Ukraine as he saw it with his own eyes, not through ours, certainly not as an independent European country. And that is why Trump can stop him,” Zelenskyy added. “For that to happen, Putin must lose money” through sanctions.
“As for Trump, I don’t know if he can or cannot, but he is the president of the United States. He must influence any aggressor in the world, and Putin is certainly one of the most dangerous.”
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