Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is confident that the war with Russia will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have once Donald Trump becomes US president.

Zelensky said he had a “constructive conversation” with Trump during their phone call after his victory in the US presidential election.

He did not say whether Trump has made any demands regarding possible talks with Russia, but said he had not heard anything from him that contradicted Ukraine’s position.

Trump has consistently said his priority is to end the war and put an end to what he sees as a depletion of American resources, in the form of military aid to Ukraine.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelenskiy said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.

He added that Ukraine “must do everything so that this war ends next year, through diplomatic channels.”

The situation on the battlefield is difficult as Russian forces make progress, Zelensky said.

He said US law only allows him to meet Trump after his inauguration in January.

Trump and Zelensky have long had a tumultuous relationship. Trump was impeached in 2019 over allegations that he pressured Zelensky to dig up damaging information about the Biden family.

Despite years of disagreements, Trump has maintained that he had a very good relationship with Zelensky.

When the pair met in New York in September, Trump said he “learned a lot from the meeting” and said he would resolve the war “very quickly.”

Trump has not yet announced how he plans to end the war.

His Democratic opponents have accused him of befriending Russian President Vladimir Putin and say his approach to the war amounts to a surrender to Ukraine that will endanger all of Europe.

But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking to Trump after his election victory, told German media that the new US leader had a “more nuanced” position on the war than was widely believed.

Scholz told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that his phone conversation with Trump was “perhaps surprisingly a very detailed and good conversation.”

Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives approved the proposal a $61 billion (£49 billion) military aid package for Ukraine to help fight the Russian invasion.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German study, the US has been the largest arms supplier to Ukraine. Between February 2022 and the end of June 2024, they delivered or committed to arms and equipment worth $55.5 billion. organization.