Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells The Guardian in a new interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin is struggling to achieve progress in Ukraine and may be preparing to escalate the conflict elsewhere in Europe.
According to Zelensky, the Kremlin is already pushing a hybrid campaign across the continent, testing NATO's limits while failing to advance on the battlefield. He suggests that Moscow could strike another European country even before the war in Ukraine concludes, and notes that the rise in drone incidents across Europe reflects Russia's stalled offensive and a search for new targets.
What Zelensky said earlier about Putin
Zelensky indicates that Russia's leadership relies on having an external enemy to unify the country around Putin, making any form of rapprochement with the West or the United States unrealistic.
Previously, he says he had warned Donald Trump that Putin was overstating his military successes. Ukrainian intelligence reported that Putin privately claimed he would seize the entire Donbas region by mid-October, something Kyiv says Russia is not capable of achieving.
Zelensky notes that Russian forces lack the manpower and that key units have already been depleted, leaving the front line largely unchanged in recent months. In his latest comments, Zelensky also says he is not "afraid" of Trump, adding that he views the United States as a long-term strategic partner rather than an adversary.