"That's my answer": How Zelenskyy responded to the question of whether he had been made a "scapegoat"

Daria Chernysh

The Relationship Between Zelenskyy and Trump

Zelenskyy's Response to a Question About the Role of a "Scapegoat" / Screenshot from the OP's video

A Sky News reporter asked whether the U.S. president was making the Ukrainian leader a "scapegoat" for the U.S.'s own problems. After a pause, Zelenskyy smiled and said that was exactly his answer.

This information came to light during Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s press briefing on October 16.

Accusations from Washington and Tensions Surrounding the Negotiations

A media representative asked directly whether Donald Trump was trying to make Volodymyr Zelenskyy responsible for the U.S.’s problems with domestic approval ratings, gas prices, and the war in the Middle East.

After the question was asked, the Ukrainian president paused for a few seconds and finally smiled.

“That is my answer,” Zelenskyy said with a smile.

This reaction was telling against the backdrop of criticism from the U.S. leadership directed at the Ukrainian side. In particular, Trump had previously claimed that it was allegedly easier for him to engage in dialogue with Vladimir Putin than to negotiate with the Ukrainian leadership.

The American politician also publicly accused Ukraine of being unwilling to conclude a peace agreement and blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s oil refining infrastructure for the rise in global fuel prices.

Commenting on these statements by the Americans, Zelenskyy drew attention to the actual actions of the aggressor country.

They have invaded our land and continue to press forward. They don’t want to stop; they don’t even want to freeze the conflict, as you can see. Can you imagine – yesterday, a thousand drones. A thousand. But the U.S. side said it’s hard to talk to Zelenskyy. It’s not that hard to work things out with Putin,
the president emphasized.

Zelenskyy added that the Russian dictator has no plans to stop. According to him, Vladimir Putin wants to seize the entire eastern part of Ukraine, but even that won’t be enough for him – Russia is already testing the resilience of Europeans and NATO countries.

As previously reported, the White House had earlier attempted to push through a deal regarding Russian diesel fuel and announced an energy ceasefire, which the Russian side subsequently violated with new strikes on Ukrainian cities.

As a reminder, Zelenskyy admits how he feels about the agreement between Trump and Putin. At that time, the president emphasized that Ukraine would not make concessions and would not sell territory for the sake of foreign commercial or geopolitical interests.