Zelensky says U.S. security guarantee should mean Trump would attack Putin if Russia attacked Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said direct security guarantees from the United States could provide meaningful protection for Ukraine, but only if Washington clearly defines what it would do in the event of another Russian attack.

“If Putin attacks, Trump attacks Putin,” Zelensky said, describing the kind of commitment he wants from President Donald Trump. “If I have on paper just this: ‘If Putin attacks Ukraine, Trump will attack Putin’ — that’s a security guarantee.”

Zelensky said a direct U.S. guarantee was “a good way” forward but stressed that Kyiv needs details before it can judge whether such a pledge would offer real protection.

In the same interview, Zelensky rejected Trump’s argument that Ukrainian long-range drone attacks on Russian refineries were responsible for high diesel prices. He said disruption around the Strait of Hormuz was the main cause of higher global energy costs.

“It’s okay for me. This is not the first time. I’m strong because I know the truth,” Zelensky said when asked how he felt about Trump’s criticism. He added that most people understood energy prices had risen “because of Hormuz.”

The United States has previously discussed providing Ukraine with direct security guarantees outside NATO, but the scope of any future commitment — including whether it would involve direct U.S. military action — remains unresolved.