Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, congratulated President Trump on taking office, calling him "a man of strength." He said Ukrainians are ready to work with Americans to achieve "true peace."
"This is an opportunity that must be seized," he said, in a video posted on the Ukrainian president's official website and on social media.
Zelenskyy is trying to reach out to Trump's base, some of whom have insisted that the U.S. cut off aid to Ukraine. Earlier this month, he spoke to podcaster Lex Fridman for a three-hour interview, Zelenskyy's longest to date. The interview got 4 million views on YouTube. On Sunday, Fridman posted a video on the social media platform X criticizing Zelenskyy, saying he gave the Ukrainian leader "every single chance to signal willingness to negotiate."
"Instead, he chose to speak very crude words toward Vladimir Putin," Fridman said. "This is fully understandable but not directly productive to negotiations."
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