Zelensky says he pushed Trump to repeat Gaza ceasefire feat with Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he urged US counterpart Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine like in “the Middle East” during a phone call Saturday.

“I had a call with US President Donald Trump. A very positive and productive one,” Zelensky says on Facebook, congratulating Trump for his “outstanding” ceasefire plan in the Middle East.

“If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war,” Zelensky adds, calling for Trump to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations.

Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks in August but failed to extract any kind of peace deal.

Diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have slowed in recent months, in part because global attention has shifted to Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, Kyiv says.

Zelensky also says the two discussed “opportunities to bolster our air defense, as well as concrete agreements that we are working on to ensure this. There are good options and solid ideas on how to truly strengthen us.”

The Ukrainian leader said last month that Ukraine had received a US-made Patriot air defense battery from Israel.

Reuters and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.