Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: AFP).
In an interview with Reuters this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if the United States cuts financial and military aid, it will have little impact on Ukraine's goals in the current conflict with Russia.
Mr. Zelensky declared that Kiev will continue the war until it regains all territory from Russia.
"What happens if they (the US) change their foreign policy? It's okay, we will continue to fight even without them," Mr. Zelensky emphasized when asked if he was worried about the risk of the US changing its policy if former President Donald Trump is re-elected next year.
President Zelensky said that any US president would support Ukraine if they understood "all the challenges, consequences and damage that the conflict causes".
Previously, former US President Donald Trump repeatedly declared that he could end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours if re-elected.
“Before I go to the Oval Office, I will end the disastrous war between Russia and Ukraine. I will solve the problem and I will solve it quickly and it won’t take me more than a day,” Trump said in March.
However, Mr. Zelensky expressed skepticism about the former White House owner's ability to end the conflict. He also made it clear that Ukraine would never accept territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
Mr Zelensky stressed that the only way to end this conflict is for Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory. He said that eventually Russian soldiers will have to do that, but did not give a reason for his belief.
Earlier this week, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine had drawn up a plan that could help them win on the battlefield and that some results would be shown as early as the end of this year.
Mr. Zelensky's comments came as the Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zaluzhny, said the situation on the battlefield was stalemate and Russia would have the advantage in a prolonged war of attrition. Mr. Zaluzhny's comments were criticized by President Zelensky's administration.
In an interview this week, Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine Andrii Yermak also said that Ukraine is preparing everything necessary to end the conflict as soon as possible.
"Nobody knows when the conflict will end. It could end suddenly. There are many factors that determine this, but I really think it will happen soon," Mr. Yermak said.
He said that Ukraine has gone 70% of the way through the conflict, but the remaining 30% is also the most difficult and challenging part.
Discussing the post-Russia-Ukraine conflict scenario, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that if Russia wins, NATO's security will also be affected. Therefore, he emphasized that NATO needs to continue supporting Ukraine to avoid that "dangerous scenario".
"If Russia wins, it will not only be a tragedy for Ukraine, but also very dangerous for us. It will make us more vulnerable," the NATO leader said.
Mr Stoltenberg believes that North America and Europe will continue to come together to support Ukraine because that is the only way to achieve a peaceful solution to this conflict. "We know that if Ukraine has the upper hand on the battlefield, it will have the upper hand at the negotiating table," he explained.
On the Russian side, the Kremlin stated that Russia will continue its military campaign in Ukraine until it achieves all its goals, and said that it is time for the US and Kiev to admit that they cannot defeat Russia on the battlefield.
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