Video: Putin fears Trump, use that leverage to end war without surrendering sovereignty — Zelensky
Abdullateef Fowewe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dropped a bold assessment in a France 24 interview, suggesting Donald Trump holds the key to forcing Vladimir Putin to back down.
“EXCLUSIF Atom bomb. Is that what Donald Trump should say to make Vladimir Putin back down? He’s only afraid of Trump,” he said.
Zelensky emphasised Putin’s unique fear of Trump as a strategic edge.
“Vladimir Putin is afraid of Trump. That’s a fact. He is not afraid of Europeans,” he said.
He urged the U.S. president to wield “leverage through the economy, through sanctions, through weapons, through our army, through the pressure on Putin” rather than yielding to Russian demands.
“If the American president wants to end this war, he can do it. He doesn’t want to directly engage the American army but he cannot compromise on the question of our sovereignty,” he added.
The remarks come amid stalled trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on February 4-5, 2026, where Ukraine, Russia, and U.S. mediators failed to broker progress.
They highlight Ukraine’s pivot to U.S. leadership after Europe’s “fragmented response” couldn’t halt Russian strikes, which resumed this week despite a brief moratorium tied to Trump’s involvement.
Zelensky praised European allies, “You know that we are grateful for the support from Europe. They are very close to us. They help us a lot. But they requested the American support”—while framing Trump as the decisive force in the three-year conflict.
