President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Guardian that he is not afraid of Donald Trump, unlike other Western leaders, and denied reports of a tense meeting in Washington, emphasizing that he has “normal, businesslike, and constructive” relations with the U.S. president.
He also revealed that King Charles played an important role in improving relations between Kyiv and Washington, describing the British monarch as “very supportive” of Ukraine. The interview took place in Kyiv after massive Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid that left most regions without electricity. During the conversation at the Mariinskyi Palace, the lights went out twice.
Zelenskyy stressed that the United States remains Ukraine’s strategic partner “for decades or even centuries,” and that the two countries share common values — in contrast to “imperialist” Russia. The president also said he intends to order 27 Patriot systems from U.S. manufacturers and called on European nations to temporarily lend their own.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia has concentrated 170,000 troops near Pokrovsk but has achieved no real success, suffering heavy losses — 25,000 killed and wounded in October alone. He warned that the Kremlin might open a second front against another European country, as Putin is “in a dead-end situation” and searching for new targets.
Zelenskyy emphasized that he wants to live “in a world where you are simply respected, not intimidated or killed,” and added: “I love Ukraine very much. It’s hard to explain logically, but I want to be here, among our people, even in these difficult times.”