Zelenskyy says Ukraine expects continued US support against Russia

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said Kyiv expects continued US support in its fight with Russia, and that he will soon speak with President Donald Trump on the matter.

At a press meet in Aarhus during the opening of Denmark's presidency of the Council of the European Union, Zelenskyy, accompanied by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa, was asked about a US pause in arms shipments to Ukraine, and if Europe was ready to fill the gaps.

"Of course, we count on continuation of American support ... about our bilateral relations with the United States and this support, I hope that maybe tomorrow, or in the coming days, I will speak about it with President Trump,” Zelenskyy said.

Commenting on Thursday's phone talk between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said: “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not sure they have many common ideas … But if we speak about Ukraine, we have supported from the very beginning the idea of President Trump’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire.”

He stressed that only Putin can decide Russia’s next steps in the war. “In Russia, only President Putin is the real decision-maker. That’s why we need meetings at the level of leaders—if we really want peace,” he said.

Some US media reports said Trump will speak with Zelenskyy on Friday.

Zelenskyy also used the occasion to call for deeper coordination between Europe and the US amid growing concerns over transatlantic unity.

“Now, when there are doubts about continued US support for Europe, it’s even more important to strengthen our cooperation and coordination through the EU – and also in our direct relations, both with each other in Europe and with the United States,” he said.

He thanked Denmark for its military support and welcomed its upcoming joint weapons production initiative with Ukraine.

He also urged the EU to ensure defense aid remains predictable and to accelerate the transfer of frozen Russian asset profits into Ukrainian defense production.

On EU enlargement, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had fulfilled the technical requirements to begin accession talks. “We are ready to open the first cluster – fundamentals – and we will be ready for them later this year. It’s time to open the clusters,” he added.