Head of Zelenskyy's Office: Trump likes winners, we need victories to have chance of keeping his support
Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said that in order not to lose the support of the US, a strategic partner of Kyiv, the country must demonstrate real results on the battlefield.
Source: Budanov in an interview with RBC-Ukraine
Details: The journalist noted that US President Donald Trump has recently made a series of pro-Ukraine comments, including endorsing the G7 statement, which also contained wording favourable to Ukraine. The interviewer asked how Ukraine had managed to win him over and how long that effect might last.
Budanov, for his part, stressed that the more important task is not to lose the support Trump is showing at the moment. He said this is genuinely important for Ukraine and outlined the "recipe" for achieving that.
Quote: "It's very simple. Everyone in the world likes winners. Nobody respects those who lose. Nobody takes them seriously.
Trump definitely likes winners. So we have to achieve victories – that will give us a chance.
Not just to appear victorious, but to actually be victorious. That will give us a chance to retain that goodwill. In the end, what we need is not symbolic goodwill, but concrete actions."
Background:
- Trump said on 25 June that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy is "doing pretty well".
- French President Emmanuel Macron said that, for the first time, the US had confirmed in an official text that it is no longer a neutral mediator in the war and supported Ukraine.
- Axios reported that Trump had signalled during the G7 summit in France that he may walk away from the so-called "Anchorage understandings" – a term the Kremlin has used to describe its belief that the US supports the transfer of all of Donbas to Moscow's control in exchange for a temporary freeze of the front line.
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