Zelenskyy: Putin irritates Trump more than I do

KYIV — Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that despite his rocky relationship with Donald Trump, he thinks the White House is still more irritated by Vladimir Putin than him.

“I may say unpleasant things, but I tell the truth. And I say what I think. And he [Putin] may sometimes say very nice things, but those things are lies. And I think that for intelligent people, those who lie are more concerning,” the Ukrainian president told a group of journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday.

“In a partnership, you can be very uncomfortable, but be partners. I think the issue with Putin is that if you think you are in a dialogue, you are really alone,” added Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said he thinks that President Trump and his administration — looking for a quick cessation of hostilities — have now understood that Putin does not want to end his full-scale invasion of Ukraine the way the White House wants it to.

While he has continued to scold Zelenskyy, Trump warned Putin on Tuesday that he is “playing with fire” as the Kremlin continues to bombard Ukraine with a record number of drones.

 “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Zelenskyy — who had an infamous blow-up with Trump in the Oval Office in late February — still wants the U.S. to impose further sanctions on Russia, as only intensifying pressure can force Moscow to think about peace, he told the assembled journalists.

The Ukrainian president also warned that Russian forces are preparing for a major new offensive and had gathered more than 50,000 troops next to the border with Ukraine’s northeastern region of Sumy, where they are aiming to create a 10 kilometer buffer zone.