Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this Tuesday that Vladimir Putin may be willing to offer a diplomatic victory to Donald Trump before the midterm elections in the United States, scheduled for November 3, according to an interview given to the media Axios.
The statement came one day after Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, visited Kiev on their first trip to Ukraine since the beginning of the U.S. president's second term, having held a meeting of more than three hours with Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday.
My feeling is that Putin needs Trump. He doesn't want to... go against him, Zelenski said to Axios. When asked directly if Putin might want to give Trump a diplomatic achievement before the elections, the Ukrainian leader responded with a brief: "Yes."
Zelenski acknowledged that, even if Putin has no intention of de-escalating on his own accord, the Trump administration could pressure him to do so, given the American president's interest in showing progress before voters head to the polls to elect the entire House of Representatives and part of the Senate.
The Ukrainian leader described the message conveyed by the envoys as "the Russians are ready to negotiate," although he expressed skepticism: Russia's escalation of attacks on the ground does not, in his view, reflect any genuine willingness to compromise.
According to Zelenski, the discussions focused on possible easing measures related to winter. "There are ideas about energy facilities, shipments of grains, electricity, and exports of oil and gas. We have different interests, Russia and us," he pointed out.
The Ukrainian president described the approach being explored by Washington—resuming negotiations while simultaneously avoiding further escalation during the cold months—as "very close to the reality of these conversations."
Washington also supports a winter aid package for Ukraine that would include air defense and energy assistance. "This is not just about missiles," Zelensky clarified. "It's also about liquefied natural gas... and about de-escalation measures."
The leader warned that Russia hopes winter will be the factor that breaks Ukraine. “Russia truly believes that this winter can help them break us,” he stated, adding that Moscow expects a winter offensive and attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure to deliver a “heavy blow” that will force Kiev to yield more ground in negotiations.
However, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine also has economic leverage over its adversary. “When they attacked our electricity, we blocked their ability to sell oil and gas,” he recalled, and warned that disruptions in agricultural exports could cause global food prices to skyrocket.
The Ukrainian president insisted that Kyiv has already made all possible concessions and that any diplomatic process must be accompanied by security guarantees and an economic support package. He also called for new U.S. sanctions against the Kremlin as leverage. "Putin needs money. Putin wants money to continue the war," he stated.
Regarding the next steps, Zelenski proposed the UN General Assembly in New York, scheduled for late September, as a potential venue for new discussions between Washington and Kiev, and he did not rule out a trilateral session with Russian participation, although no date or location has been defined.
The diplomacy of Trump's envoys is framed within a relationship between Washington and Moscow that has been described as pragmatic: Putin called Trump to congratulate him on his 80th birthday in June 2026 during a 55-minute conversation, and in April he proposed a truce during a 90-minute call that the American president supported.
"We have this September and October to find a way to talk," Zelensky concluded. "Without dialogue... we will not have results."
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