KYIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not ready for compromises” to end his brutal war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The Post in an exclusive interview on Wednesday — but President Trump has the power to bring him to his knees by speeding up tough sanctions that could cause a “social explosion” in Russia.
“He needs to feel this,” Zelensky said.
The leader said he was “very grateful” that Trump supports sanctions, referring to the president’s Monday announcement that he would levy 100% tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil if Moscow does not agree to a peace deal.
However, the 50-day deadline, he said, only means more death and destruction for another almost two months.
“Fifty days, for us, is just — every day is scary,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said the solution to the more than three years of bloodshed is to force Putin to want to end his war.
“Putin does not want a conclusion … so he’s just not ready to compromise,” Zelensky said.
“If Ukraine has to do this on its own, we have a very long way to go with a lot of deaths to convince him that it’s important [to end the conflict] because it’s not just words — they need serious leverage.”
It comes as Putin’s war machine has become increasingly savage, intentionally targeting civilians — including babies — with explosive drones, which his forces are launching into Ukraine at record numbers.
The Russian military even targets the first responders after an attack, Zelensky said. Secondary strikes are common, with Moscow sending additional drones to take out those attempting to help victims.
“They hit civilian infrastructure, a house, and they know that an ambulance is coming,” the president said.
“And at that moment, after the first blow, they pause. Then the cars come, the people who provide the opportunity to save lives come, the ambulance, the doctors, the nurses, the SES, and they come, and at that moment, when they are there, they strike again,” he continued.
“They know the details, when people will arrive, after what pause they will be able to arrive … They are hunting firefighters when they are putting out a fire.”
The delay gives the Russian warmonger even more time to carry out his wicked crusade — after he already “played with Trump” through months of delayed and unfruitful peace negotiations with Moscow, Zelensky said.
“Putin has wasted President Trump’s time,” he said. “I would very much like to see the United States, the Congress and the president put some pressure on this situation with sanctions and so the sooner, the faster it can be done, the better.”
Trump has been vocal about his frustration with Putin for “tapping [him] along” with talks while launching a massive assault on Ukraine.
“A lot of people are dying and it should end,” he said July 8. “We get a lot of bulls–t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth.”
Zelensky said he understood the president’s feelings, saying Trump believed that the Russians were “capable of ending” the war — but in reality, they had no appetite for it.
“Frankly, Putin was just lying to him that he wanted to end the war and Zelensky was not ready — and then President Trump saw that it was the exact opposite,” he said.
“Today, President Trump is disappointed that all of this turned out to be a lie, that Putin was just playing him.”
On Tuesday, Trump said he was open to speeding up the timeline if Russia doesn’t get serious.
“A lot of opinions change very rapidly — might not be 50 days, might be much sooner than 50 days,” the president said.
The Ukrainian president also said it is clear Trump is frustrated with Moscow’s lack of respect for human life — even when it comes to their own people.
“I think that President Trump believed that the Russians were really ready to end the war because they felt sorry for the people who are dying, and I think he’s disappointed that these Russians don’t care about people’s lives that much,” he said.
“Trump takes the death of people more seriously than Putin. It hurts him more — he talks about it — than Putin, who doesn’t feel sorry for his people at all, and they are his citizens.”
Economic sanctions — which Zelensky said were a “humanitarian” way to help end the war, as it would not see the US contributing to lethal action against Russia — are a powerful way to convince Putin to end the assault.
That’s because it would have an effect on the wallets of everyday Russians, which could mean a drastic drop in Putin’s domestic popularity — and public outcry from a highly-repressed population.
While many Russians — including prisoners of war in Ukraine with whom The Post spoke in March — do not understand the purpose of the war and privately oppose it, they do not speak out because they “are not free” like the Western world, Zelensky said.
But that could change if they feel the consequences.
“They’re afraid that they’re either going to have their money taken away or they’re going to be thrown in jail [if they speak out now,]” he said.
“But when people … are fired from their jobs because there are layoffs because the employer cannot stand it and everything is shrinking because of the economy — then there is always a social explosion.”
Trump could end the war with this strategy, as the power-obsessed Putin would lose his appetite for continued violence if he loses support from his people, Zelensky said.
“We would certainly like to speed up this process,” Zelensky said.
“We, for our part, will work to provide more information [to Trump], more arguments for strong sanctions against Russia.”
