Zelenskyy Calls His Relationship With Trump 'Emotional' in PBS Interview: Pressure Putin, Not Ukraine
In an interview with PBS News Hour broadcast on November 2, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked by host Amna Nawaz to describe his relationship with President Donald Trump in one word. He replied: 'Emotional.' He added that the parties need to be pragmatic in this war: 'Who is an enemy? Who began this war? Putin. Don't find good words to describe him.'
Zelenskyy used the interview to urge Washington to direct its pressure at Moscow rather than Kyiv. 'Better to push stronger on Putin, not on me,' he said. 'It's not me who is aggressive.' He questioned claims that energy deals with Russia would lower fuel prices in the United States, saying that logic does not work, and argued that the pragmatic course is to support Ukraine: 'We have to support Ukraine, because it has to be strong, because otherwise Putin will go further to Europe and to the different parts of NATO countries.'
The interview was recorded before Russia's November 2 bombing of a humanitarian aid point in southern Ukraine, whose heavy civilian toll Zelenskyy confirmed as the programme aired. In the interview he also addressed Ukraine's resumed strikes on Russian energy sites, saying they respond to Russian attacks and reiterating that Ukraine could stop if Russia halts attacks on Ukraine's energy system. The broadcast came as a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia was expected to resume in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11.
Source: PBS News Hour
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：乌克兰总统泽连斯基（资料图，摄于2026年纽约气候周期间）。照片 CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (file photo, taken during New York Climate Week 2026). CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
