Ukranian President Zelenskyy eyes Gaza agreement as key to end Ukraine-Russia war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox News on Sunday that he believes U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan could serve as a source of inspiration for ending the war between Ukraine and Russia. 

"I think this Israel success, and of course it gives signals for us and hope that with such pressure, what President Trump used in Middle East to make peace, and I hope that he will use the same instruments, even more, to pressure [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to stop his war in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.

While expressing confidence in Trump’s peacemaking abilities, the Ukrainian leader nevertheless warned that he believes Russia is “exploiting” the current global focus on Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal by striking Ukraine. 

“Russia is now taking advantage of the moment – the fact that the Middle East and domestic issues in every country are getting maximum attention," Zelenskyy assessed. The Ukrainian president confirmed that Trump is well-informed about the situation in Ukraine. 

"We also discussed many details related to the energy sector. President Trump is well-informed about everything that is happening. We agreed to continue our dialogue, and our teams are doing their preparations," Zelenskyy wrote in a message on 𝕏.

Trump, who was initially reluctant to arm Ukraine, revealed that he would consider sending offensive Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine as a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin if he refuses to end the war. 

"Yeah, I might tell him (Putin), if the war is not settled, we may very well do it,” Trump said. "We may not, but we may do it. … Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so."

Unlike most Western democracies, Israel had solid relations with both Russia and Ukraine until recently. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow’s military cooperation with Iran, the Jewish state increasingly joined the Western world in denouncing Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities. 

In July, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. During his visit, Israel’s top diplomat emphasized “the importance of strengthening bilateral relations between the countries, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East – with a particular focus on Iran.”

Sa’ar condemned Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians and its close ties with the Iranian regime that openly calls for the Jewish state’s destruction. 

“Ukraine has been at war with Russia for more than three years. It is a brutal war that has claimed many lives. I know the past few weeks have been especially painful. You have endured heavy attacks, and many civilians have been killed and wounded,” Sa’ar stated. 

“My heart is with the families who have lost loved ones. My prayers are with the wounded. We know what it means to be under attack – with your family, with your children,” he added.

While appreciating Israel’s political support, Ukraine has long complained about Jerusalem’s reluctance to supply Kyiv with advanced weapons systems. 

In November 2024, Zelenskyy stated that Israel was unwilling to provide military hardware to Ukraine due to fear of the Russian leader Putin, who has strong ties with Israel’s arch adversary Iran and other Middle Eastern actors. 

"It's my opinion, and I'm very honest about it, and I also spoke about it with European leaders and with the American administration, and I asked them to help me with Israel to give us support, especially with air defenses," Zelenskyy told Fox News at the time. 

Israel previously had to coordinate its military operations in Syria with Russia, which maintained military bases in the Middle Eastern country. However, following the collapse of the Syrian Assad regime, Russia and Iran both withdrew most of their military assets from Syria.