Trump's sanctions deadline for Russia wastes time — and human lives: Zelensky
'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.
10 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down for an exclusive interview with The Post.
Kostiantyn Yaremenko
10 Zelensky says Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'not ready for compromises.'
Getty Images
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.
10 The aftermath of a Russian drone strike on Dnipro, Ukraine.
REUTERS
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.
10 Zelensky and Trump shakes hands at the NATO summit on June 25, 2025.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images
'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.'
10 Zelensky tells The Post Putin is wasting Trump's time.
Kostiantyn Yaremenko
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.
10 Zelensky tells The Post he would like to see Congress take action and sanction Russia.
Kostiantyn Yaremenko
'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.
10 Zelensky tells The Post why sanctions against Russia could work.
Kostiantyn Yaremenko
'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.
10 The aftermath of a Russian drone strike in Dnipro, Ukraine on July 17, 2025.
REUTERS
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.
10 Zelensky and Trump speak at Pope Francis' funeral in April 2025.
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images
'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.
10 A Russian drone attack hit Kharkiv on July 16, 2025.
ZUMAPRESS.com
'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.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump isn't gutting Medicaid and food stamps. He's fixing our broken welfare system.
President Donald Trump has preserved the core of the safety net for the truly vulnerable. He and his fellow Republicans are helping millions of able-bodied adults leave welfare and find work. It's a simple question with an obvious answer: Should Americans work as a condition of receiving welfare? More than two-thirds of Americans respond with a resounding yes. But while the principle of the matter and popular opinion are clear, our country's welfare system has been a muddled mess for decades. The biggest welfare program − Medicaid − has been disconnected from helping its 84.6 million recipients find work. And while the food stamps program technically has work requirements, they're inconsistently enforced for the 42 million people who benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The result: Tens of millions of people, especially able-bodied adults, have been trapped in government dependency. But they deserve the chance to become self-sufficient. They deserve to fully share in our country's progress. And they deserve to shape that progress while pursuing their own American dream. Trump is fixing broken welfare system That is why President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act is so important. The president and Republicans in Congress have started to fundamentally fix America's broken welfare system. They're finally connecting welfare to work. Your Turn: Medicaid handouts only create dependency. Able-bodied adults should work. | Opinion Forum Unfortunately, many Americans haven't heard this side of the story. They've been told − by virtually every politician on the left as well as a few loud voices on the right − that Trump and his fellow Republicans are gutting the safety net that vulnerable Americans need. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, the president has preserved the core of the safety net for the truly vulnerable. He and his fellow Republicans are helping millions of able-bodied adults leave welfare and find work. That's the point of the safety net: to support people who've fallen on hard times, then help them move on to better times. It was never meant to be a hammock. Yet that's what it has become, trapping millions of people in generational dependency. Trump's welfare reforms are righting this wrong. To start, Medicaid now has its first federal work requirement in history. Able-bodied adults without children as well as those without young kids will now be required to work at least part time to keep receiving Medicaid. Will Trump's big bill kill people? Here's the truth about Medicaid cuts. | Opinion That is common sense. Medicaid was created to help the neediest people in society get health care. It wasn't intended to cover healthy adults who are capable of working but choose not to. It's good for them, and all of America, if they find jobs and raise their incomes. The same is true for food stamps. The president and Congress are closing loopholes that have allowed able-bodied adults to avoid work requirements. They've also put states on the financial hook for giving food stamps to those who aren't eligible. These reforms will help millions of people find work and boost their incomes. That's good for them and the rest of society. Work requirements will help people living in poverty Those who criticize these commonsense reforms aren't just missing the point. They're missing something profoundly American. We should want our fellow citizens to find good jobs, earn more income and put themselves on the path to everything from buying a car to buying a home. That's the ticket to a life of fulfillment − to the American dream. But we shouldn't want people to stay on welfare with no strings attached, especially able-bodied adults. We should want them to lead better lives. And we should believe in their incredible potential and innate ability to improve their lives. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Trump's welfare reforms are grounded in this deeply American principle. They will move millions of people from welfare to work, transforming lives in powerful ways. Virtually everyone intuitively understands that this is a good thing for everyone, including those on welfare and those of us who pay for it. The real question is why some politicians and pundits think it's bad to empower people on welfare to rise through work. Hayden Dublois is data and analytics director at the Foundation for Government Accountability. You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.
UPI
17 minutes ago
- UPI
NATO fighter jets scrambled as Russia attacks Ukraine
A local woman walks past the site of a drone strike on a residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 21, 2025. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA July 28 (UPI) -- NATO aircraft were scrambled Sunday night to respond to a Russian attack on Ukraine, the Polish military said Monday. "Polish and allied quick reaction aircraft were scrambled, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness," Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces said in a statement. "These actions are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens, especially in areas adjacent to the threatened region." A few hours later, it issued a statement that the aircraft had concluded their deployment, adding that "no violations of Polish airspace were observed." Swedish fighter jets stationed in Poland were among the aircraft scrambled, it said. The Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement on Telegram on Monday that Russia launched 324 drones and seven missiles overnight, resulting in 311 of the attacks being either shot down or suppressed by electronic warfare. "There were confirmed impacts of two missiles of various types and 15 strike UAVs at three locations," it said. Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's Office of the President, said in a statement on X that some of the Russian aerial strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including in the capital Kyiv. "He wants nothing but war and Ukraine's defeat," he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "But defeat is not an option." "Russia and its satellites are also testing NATO's response," he added. "Drones entering the airspace of the Baltic states are signals that must not be ignored."
NBC News
17 minutes ago
- NBC News
Democratic governors search for a balance between fighting and working with Trump
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Linda McMahon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have largely been skewered by Democrats for the way they have run President Donald Trump's Education and Health departments. But over the weekend at a bipartisan summit of governors in Colorado Springs, they received a distinctly warm welcome — including from the Democrats on hand. Instead of pressing McMahon on her plans to eliminate the Education Department, a move that will substantially affect state budgets, Democrats who attended the National Governors Association meeting in the mountain foothills of Colorado offered praise to McMahon during a Friday session over the Trump administration's decision to release billions in education funding it had withheld. And they peppered her with questions about students' mental health, early childhood education and artificial intelligence — areas where they might be able to find common ground. On Saturday, Kennedy, whose stances on vaccines have drawn fierce criticism, held court with a group of Democratic governors, assuring them that he did not want to see budget cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services. These conciliatory moments, which occurred throughout the NGA's summer meeting, underscored the bind Democrats have found themselves in during Trump's second term: weighing when to fight back against the administration, as the base is pushing for, and when to work with it to benefit their constituents. It's a balancing act that's particularly acute at the state level. While Democrats are out of power in Washington, the party's governors have much more authority. And governors in particular have prided themselves on searching for common ground, even in a heated political environment — a core purpose of the NGA. Still, a growing number of Democrats argue that calls for bipartisanship do not meet the current moment. Govs. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Laura Kelly of Kansas were among several Democrats who did not attend the summit. All told, seven Democratic governors and 11 Republican governors came for at least part of the weekend, the NGA said, while three governors attended virtually. Walz and Kelly, as The Atlantic first reported, declined to renew their NGA membership dues for the upcoming fiscal year, due to broader frustrations with how the group has approached the Trump administration. A source familiar with the governors' thinking said that Walz's and Kelly's feelings were 'a view held by more than just these two governors' and were a product of 'frustration' that the NGA 'had tied its own hands' by not taking a more active role in advocating for states and governors amid Trump's attacks. 'If we can't agree on standing up for states' rights, we're passively endorsing what the president is doing,' the source said. During his second term, Trump has defied or threatened many Democratic-led states. Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles amid unrest over his immigration policies, despite objections from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump also froze federal funds for a child nutrition program in Maine after he clashed with Gov. Janet Mills over an issue related to transgender athletes. (The Trump administration later halted the freeze.) Newsom and Mills also did not attend the summit. 'We can't just walk away' Several Democratic governors who attended the weekend meeting expressed sympathy for Walz's and Kelly's decision. They also highlighted the importance of finding common ground with their political adversaries, suggesting that it remained a better option to try to win influence with them instead of not showing up. 'The promise that I made to the people of Maryland when the Trump administration came on board was that I will work with anyone, but I will bow down to no one,' Maryland's Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said during a session with reporters at the summit in response to a question from NBC News. 'But there's a clear understanding and a clear desire to be able to work with anybody to make sure that the people of my state and the people for all of our states are getting the support that they need. And I think one of the benefits of this weekend was, you know, we got a chance to sit down with Secretary Kennedy, that we got a chance to actually sit down with Secretary McMahon,' added Moore, who was elected vice char of the NGA over the weekend. He noted that previously he had not had the chance to do so in the first seven months of Trump's second term. 'I actually think it was a real benefit,' Moore said. Moore is no stranger to fighting with the administration: Most recently, he has accused Trump of denying his state federal disaster assistance for flooding in Maryland in May. Moore said he'd spoken with Walz and Kelly, calling their frustrations 'justified.' But he added that the NGA 'is never going to be either the cheerleader nor the heckler of a federal administration.' Hawaii's Democratic Gov. Josh Green, a physician who has blamed Kennedy for measles outbreaks, said he had a 'valuable' private meeting with the health secretary that lasted an hour. 'I have some deep ideological differences with Secretary Kennedy,' Green said in an interview with NBC News. But he added that creating a collaborative environment with Kennedy and McMahon helped him explain to them why he felt 'things have to happen to protect vulnerable people.' Green said that he and Kennedy discussed how governors could most effectively access the $50 billion rural hospital fund that was included in the massive tax cut and spending bill Trump recently signed into law. 'We can't just walk away, in my opinion,' Green said. 'Even though I'll keep pushing back on any changes to the vaccine schedule … I will also be able to take some advantage of the relationships.' Green also said he had 'deep disagreements' with McMahon, but that he felt it remained important to maintain a dialogue. 'Do I have concerns about working with the secretary of education?' Green said. 'Of course I do, but I would have deeper concerns if there was no one that could speak up for what I feel is about half of the country.' Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat whose term as NGA chair ended this weekend, said he invited Kennedy and McMahon in particular because governors had expressed to him that health care and education were two of the top issues they wanted to address during the event. 'I think these times call for the kind of bipartisan work of the NGA more than ever before. The American people want progress,' Polis said. 'And that only comes when the politicians stop fighting over their party labels and work together to achieve real outcomes that actually matter in people's lives.' Disagreements remain Democratic governors still made their disagreements with Republicans clear at the summit. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was among several Democratic governors to lambast the 'big, beautiful bill' and its cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. And a cadre of Democratic governors slammed Texas Republicans' plans to redraw its congressional maps ahead of schedule in an effort to help the GOP protect its narrow House majority in next year's midterm elections. In an emailed statement in response to questions from NBC News, NGA spokesperson Eric Wohlschlegel said that 'the record participation and support of NGA isn't because governors avoid tough topics; it's because NGA is one of the few places where they can cut through the noise and collectively focus on what works.' 'It's critical in a political climate where so many issues become zero-sum fights, NGA provides something increasingly rare: a forum for real, results-driven, bipartisan problem-solving. That's why governors keep showing up,' Wohlschlegel added. Green, Hawaii's governor, said that approach paid off — even though 'sometimes it gives me heartburn.'
