Ukraine has direct support from Trump for strikes on Russian targets – Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that if Russia does not stop the war, then officials working in the Kremlin should make sure they know where the nearest bomb shelter is. He said this in an interview with Axios.
Zelenskyy said that he has direct support from US President Donald Trump for striking Russian targets such as energy infrastructure and weapons factories, adding that if Ukraine receives additional long-range weapons from the US, "we will use them."
"If they attack our energy, President Trump supports that we can respond with energy," Zelenskyy said.
According to Zelenskyy, Trump said the same about drone factories or missile sites, although they are well protected.
He also clarified that Ukraine will not bomb civilians because "we are not terrorists." But he suggested that centers of Russian power such as the Kremlin were the focus.
"They need to know where the bomb shelters are. They need it. If they don’t stop the war, they will need it anyway. They need to know that we in Ukraine, every day, will respond. If they attack us, we will respond to them," Zelenskyy said of Kremlin officials.
He said he had made one specific request to Trump during the meeting on Tuesday: a new weapons system that he said would force Putin to the negotiating table.
Zelenskyy said he would name the system when the cameras were off, adding that Trump had told him: "We will work on it."
He noted that Ukraine already has drones that can strike deep into Russia, but he also said there was an additional weapons system he wanted to speed up the end of the war.
"We need it, but that doesn't mean we're going to use it. Because if we do, I think it will put additional pressure on Putin to sit down and talk," he said.
