Zelenskyy hits back at Trump: Putin's not a child — he's a maniac with a gun
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
The war in Ukraine is not "two children fighting in a park." It is a clash with a murderer who came armed onto foreign soil. Russian President Vladimir Putin is no longer a child and fully understands what he is doing, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with ABC News.
The journalist asked if Zelenskyy believes that US President Donald Trump is putting enough pressure on Putin. Zelenskyy responded that Trump has made various statements in recent days. She added that at one point, Trump had called Putin crazy, but then suddenly claimed the war reminded him of children fighting in a park who just needed to be allowed to throw a few punches.
However, the Ukrainian president explained that such an analogy about children does not fit the war in Ukraine. Ukrainians are not playing with Russians. This is not a story about two children.
"They came to us. That's a fact. And this is an adult. Putin is definitely not a child. He knows exactly what he's doing. This is more like an adult maniac who walks into a playground where children are sitting, comes in with a gun, and just starts taking people. He abducted children — that's a fact. He kills these children. He has killed them — that's a fact. He left children without parents. That's what this is like. And in my opinion, you can't just say, 'Let's pull them apart.' No one deals with maniacs like that. That's not how real life works. This is a maniac and a child on a playground," the President emphasized.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine has undergone significant changes and matured as a result of this war. He explained that adults usually do not negotiate with maniacs — they isolate or imprison them.
"And with maniacs, usually, the adults of this world — if we are children already — then the adults of this world usually don’t talk to a maniac about anything. They isolate the maniac, put him in prison, and isolate him from people. And if it's a terrorist, then with a terrorist, they try somehow to talk about something, to free people. That’s how it works," the President said.
He also noted that Putin does not hide that he came with weapons onto Ukrainian land. On the contrary, he is proud of it.
"He says he came to protect someone. Before that, he said he didn't come here, that it wasn't him. And now he's proud of it. He openly says, 'Yes, I came there and I will keep doing it because I believe this is historically our territory.' This is a maniac, not a child,” the president concluded.
Trump compared the war to a playground fight
Recently, Trump compared Ukraine and Russia to children on a playground who need to fight before being separated. He also suggested he might impose sanctions on both sides.
Notably, Zelenskyy has already responded to the comparison of the war to a children's fight.
This is not the first time the US president has made a controversial statement about Ukraine.
During the US election campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to end Russia's war against Ukraine quickly. He even claimed he could do it within 24 to 48 hours. However, after entering the White House, he effectively abandoned these promises. His team explained those statements as "jokes."
