Zelensky stated his readiness to leave the presidency after the war and threatened strikes on the Kremlin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his readiness to step down after the war. He also promised to ask Ukraine’s parliament to organize elections if a ceasefire is reached.

The head of state made this statement in an interview with Axios.

When asked whether he would consider his work finished once the war ends, Zelensky said he would be ready to resign. According to him, his goal is to end the war. At the same time, he “understands” that people may want “a leader with a new mandate” to make the historic decisions necessary to achieve long-term peace.

The president said he told U.S. leader Donald Trump that if the sides reach a ceasefire, “we can use this period of time, and I can give this signal to parliament” to begin preparations for elections.

At the same time, it is worth noting that in the interview Zelensky did not promise to step down during the war or to forgo running in elections. He literally said he was “ready to resign” after the war ends. This can be interpreted in different ways: as a willingness to leave office if he loses an election, or as considering the option of not seeking a second term.

In the Axios interview, Zelensky also said that Trump promised to “think about” providing Kyiv with weapons that would “force Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table.” The Ukrainian president stressed that he raised this issue with Trump during their personal meeting on Tuesday. According to Zelensky, Trump told him: “We will work on it.”

Zelensky claimed that Trump supports Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities and military factories.

“If they attack our energy sector, President Trump supports that we can respond against Russian energy,” Zelensky said.

He also threatened strikes on the Kremlin during the interview.

“If Russia does not stop the war, officials working in the Kremlin should make sure they know where the nearest bomb shelter is,” he declared.

This last remark drew a response from Dmitry Medvedev, who threatened Zelensky and the United States with a strike “from which no bomb shelter will save them.”

“Moscow can use such weapons that no bomb shelter will protect from. And Americans should remember this,” wrote the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council on Telegram.

It should be recalled that in another interview Zelensky denied accusations of corruption and monopolization of power, stressing that elections remain impossible for now.