Kyiv,ukraine, 18 February (H.S.): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused U.S. President Donald Trump of applying disproportionate pressure on Kyiv to capitulate in peace negotiations with Russia on Tuesday, during a candid telephone interview with Axios, as trilateral talks unfolded concurrently in Geneva among Russian, Ukrainian, and American envoys.

Zelenskiy, who characterized Trump's repeated public exhortations—such as his Air Force One admonition that Ukraine better come to the table fast—as tactically lopsided and not fair, posited that exerting leverage on Ukraine might prove simpler than compelling Moscow's concessions, while expressing cautious optimism that such rhetoric constituted maneuver rather than irrevocable policy.

He categorically repudiated any accord entailing territorial cessions beyond Russia's extant 88% Donbas foothold, averring that Ukrainians would evince visceral opposition in a referendum, imperiling his leadership and U.S. credibility alike, for emotionally, people will never forgive this... This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land.

Notwithstanding the strain, Zelenskiy reiterated gratitude for Trump's mediation via envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner—conversations he deemed mutually respectful—while advocating stasis along prevailing frontlines as a viable referendum predicate, amid Trump's dual entreaties for alacrity in resolving the nearly four-year conflagration.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar