Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says working with Donald Trump if he is re-elected as US president will be “hard work, but we are hard workers”.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC in London, Mr Zelensky said he is willing to work with anyone who is in power in the US.
Just days ago, Trump announced Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate in November’s vote. The 39-year-old has in the past said “he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other”.
The nomination has renewed fears that US commitment to Ukraine could fall away if Trump is returned to the White House.
“Maybe he really doesn’t care, but we have to work with the United States,” Mr Zelensky told the BBC.
The Ukrainian leader is in the UK for a meeting of the European Political Community, where he delivered a speech on Thursday afternoon.
He earlier met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has vowed to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes” and has committed to spending £3bn on aid for the country.
He added that he hoped Mr Starmer’s term in Downing Street would mark a “special” era in British foreign policy.
“I don’t think Britain’s position would change,” Mr Zelensky told the BBC. “But I would like for Prime Minister Starmer to become special – speaking about international politics, about defending world security, about the war in Ukraine.”
He added that Ukraine “doesn’t just need a new page, we need power to turn this leaf”.
Ukraine’s troops have faced a tough winter and earlier this week it was confirmed that they had withdrawn from the village of Krynky on the occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River.
Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine has yet to receive fighter jets pledged to it by Western leaders, despite a promise that the country would receive F16s during the summer. He said that planes are necessary to help the country’s forces.
“It’s been 18 months and the planes have not reached us,” he said, saying that he was thankful for what Ukraine has been given.
But he emphasised that new fighters are essential to help Ukrainians push back against Russia’s aerial dominance and “unblock the skies”.
Mr Zelensky has been Ukraine’s leader since 2019 and throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion. While elections were due this year, Ukraine’s constitution rules out a ballot during the time of martial law.
The president told the BBC that he does envisage a time when he would step down as president.
“But not until the war is over,” he said.
