Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Donald Trump for having a “long and detailed” conversation with him and other European leaders about how to possibly end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
By Jack Hobbs
Sep 4, 2025
Defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Donald Trump for having a “long and detailed” conversation with him and other European leaders about how to possibly end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“A long and very detailed conversation with President Trump,” wrote Zelensky on Twitter on Thursday. “We spoke after today’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris. European leaders also participated on the call.”
“First and foremost, we talked about how to push the situation toward real peace,” he said. “We discussed different options, and the most important is pressure, using strong measures, particularly economic ones, to force an end to the war.”
“The key to peace is depriving Russia’s war machine of money, depriving it of resources,” added Zelensky. “We also spoke about maximum protection for Ukraine’s skies.”
“Until peace comes, Ukrainians must not be at the mercy of constant Russian attacks,” he concluded. “Russian missiles and drones must not take lives. Ukraine has proposed a format for protecting our skies for the U.S. to consider. I thank President Trump for supporting our people. We agreed on further contacts.”
President Zelensky’s tweet comes after the coalition meeting, which began around 8:00 a.m. EST on Thursday. The tweet comes after President Donald Trump, who has been working on securing a peace deal, admitted that perhaps the conflict was “a little more difficult” to end than he thought.
Speaking to CBS, Trump commented that ending the conflict was “more difficult” than other wars. “Frankly, the Russia one, I thought, would have been on the easier side of the ones I’ve stopped,” he said. “But it seems to be something that’s a little bit more difficult than some of the others.
Since retaking the Oval Office in January, Trump has attempted to position himself as a global peacemaker and repeatedly touted that he has ended several conflicts. Despite this, the president has yet to detail exactly which wars he participated in.
Trump’s approach, as he describes it, is to gather leaders in one room and push them toward an agreement. The president also admitted that the situation between Moscow and Kyiv required additional patience.
Zelensky has repeatedly expressed a desire and willingness to meet with Putin directly while also urging the U.S. to impose tougher measures to force Russia to return to the negotiation table. On Wednesday, Putin allegedly told reporters that he has not ruled out meeting with Zelensky and added that he would do it if it were done properly.