In brief
Ukraine's president said nobody could know whether a Trump presidency would have prevented the invasion, but argued that pressure on Putin could help end the war.
Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to Donald Trump's repeated assertion that Russia would never have invaded Ukraine had he been US president at the time. Speaking on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, Zelensky said nobody knew the answer to that hypothetical question, LIGA.net reported on October 22.
Zelensky acknowledged that the full-scale invasion began during Joe Biden's presidency, but said Vladimir Putin had chosen the moment himself. He suggested that Trump's friendly relationship with Putin might have prevented the invasion, while stressing the uncertainty of that possibility.
Trump's presidency would eventually have ended, Zelensky argued, whereas Putin would have retained his ambition to occupy Ukraine. He linked the continuing threat to Putin remaining in power.
Zelensky also said he believed Trump could secure an end to the war by putting pressure on Putin rather than on Ukraine.
