Agency Report
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Putin “will die soon” as he urged the US not to lift sanctions despite Russian demands.
The Ukrainian president said that “everything will end” after Putin’s death, which is “what he is afraid of”.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Mr Zelenskyy also claimed that Putin “fears his own society” in Russia, and urged the US not to let the Russian president out of geopolitical isolation.
Russia has said that it will only begin observing an agreed ceasefire in the Black Sea if sanctions on Russian food and fertiliser trade were removed.
Mr Zelenskyy said he hoped that the US would resist these demands from the Kremlin.
“I hope so. God bless, they will. But we’ll see,” he said.
Mr Zelenskyy said he was very grateful for the support of the US, but that some in the White House were “under the influence of Russian narratives”.
He added: “We can’t agree to those narratives”.
Mr Macron has said a proposed European armed force for possible deployment in Ukraine under an eventual peace deal could respond if Russia launched an attack.
Mr Zelenskyy and French president Mr Macron suggested a foreign contingent in Ukraine could also provide military training.
This is something allies already have been doing outside Ukraine, preparing more than 75,000 troops for battle against Russia’s larger and expanding military and helping to make up for some of Ukraine’s losses from more than three years of intense fighting.
“Primarily, any contingent consists of combat units, but they are above all intended to control the situation, monitor it, carry out joint training, and also to prevent any desire by Russia to return with renewed waves of aggression,” Mr Zelenskyy said at Wednesday’s news conference with Mr Macron.
European officials say that under any peace deal, Ukraine’s first line of defence against any future Russian aggression would be Ukraine’s own army.
The 27-nation European Union is pressing ahead with a so-called steel “porcupine strategy” aimed at making Ukraine an even tougher nut for Russia to crack, by strengthening its armed forces and defence industry.
The UK is also pledging continued military aid so Ukraine can keep fighting if peace talks fail or a ceasefire is broken.
The talks came ahead of a summit in Paris of 30 nations on Thursday that will discuss the proposed force for Ukraine.
Keir Starmer and Mr Macron have been driving coalition-building efforts for a European Ukraine force.
But the US will not be represented at the talks on Thursday.
Donald Trump’s administration has shown no public enthusiasm for the coalition’s discussions about potentially sending troops into Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire to help make peace stick.
The US president’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed the idea of a European deployment or even the need for it.
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