Zelenskyy: I believe Trump wants Ukraine to win

When asked by a journalist, “So now you believe that President Trump actually finally wants Ukraine to win?”, Zelenskyy replied, “Yes.”

The journalist recalled that Donald Trump had previously said, “Mr. Zelenskyy, you don't have any cards.”

When asked what had changed since then, Zelenskyy replied that the situation had changed because of Trump's relationship with Putin (Russian president Vladimir Putin - ed.).

“I think that President Trump understood that Putin will not bring him success. Even if we will look at this moment like the society, American society, I think, which is very important for President of the United States,” he said.

According to Zelenskyy, public support is extremely important for any leader.

He added that “American society doesn't respect and doesn't trust Putin, and mostly, they don't trust that he wants to finish this war.”

Trump's shift in rhetoric

The US president has made a turnaround in his rhetoric regarding the war in Ukraine since returning to the White House in January 2025.

At first, he expressed doubts about supporting Ukraine, even hinting that Kyiv was partly to blame for the start of the conflict. Trump stated that “Zelenskyy does not respect the US” and that “Ukraine should not have allowed this war.”

However, Trump recently changed his position, stating that he believes Ukraine is capable of regaining all of its territories with the support of the European Union and NATO.

This happened after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Trump also said that Russia is in great economic trouble and called on it to stop its aggressive war against Ukraine.

He also criticized Europe for buying oil and gas from Russia, saying that this fuels the war in Ukraine.

According to the New York Post, Trump's statement about Russia's weakness is based on new intelligence data.