In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine expressed his concerns about the possible re-election of Donald Trump as the U.S. president. Zelensky admitted that he was unsure how Trump would have responded if Russia had invaded Ukraine during his presidency. He praised the response of the Biden administration, highlighting the provision of billions of dollars in weapons aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began.
Zelensky acknowledged feeling more comfortable dealing with President Biden and expressed apprehension about a Republican-led government potentially complicating Ukraine’s efforts in the ongoing war. He emphasized that President Biden had been more supportive than Trump, particularly during a full-scale war situation.
The Ukrainian president also expressed discomfort with Trump’s claim that he could negotiate a peace settlement to the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours. Zelensky highlighted that Trump seemed unconcerned about Russian occupation of Ukrainian territory, specifically Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014 under the Obama administration.
During the interview, Zelensky took the opportunity to appeal to the West for more Patriot missile systems. He stated that Ukraine currently lacks sufficient defensive weapons to protect both the frontline and civilians in cities. Zelensky emphasized the importance of the Patriot system in countering Russian missile threats and requested more of these systems from the West. He suggested that 50 Patriot systems would significantly enhance Ukraine’s ability to protect itself from Russian air attacks.
“President Biden is the president during a full-scale war and he has been more helpful to us than President Trump,” Zelensky told the interviewer, qualifying the statement by noting that there “was no full-scale war” going on while Trump was in office.
“In a situation like this, when there is support, you are afraid of changes,” Zelensky said. “And to be honest, when you mention a change of administration, I feel the same way as anyone… You want changes for the better, but it can also be the other way around.
There’s currently one weapon capable of stopping some types of missiles launched by the Russian Federation against our civilian population, schools, infrastructure and energy system,” he said. “The only system in the world is the Patriot.”
However, meeting such a request would be challenging, as each Patriot platform reportedly costs over one billion dollars, and the production of these systems is limited. The Ukrainian president’s appeal for additional Patriots came in the context of the already committed security assistance from the United States, amounting to around $37 billion, and other forms of aid.
