Putin 'must pay' for war as he 'avoids sanctions' by tricking Trump, says Zelenskyy
Vladimir Putin is trying to trick Donald Trump into delaying sanctions on Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims.
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Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Russian leader is "doing everything he can to avoid sanctions", including tricking the US president.
Mr Zelenskyy said the Russia-US summit in Alaska last month was a bid for Putin to "escape political isolation".
"I think it gave a lot to Putin," he said, of the meeting, "and I believe, if it was a trilateral meeting, we would have some result."
Since the meeting, Donald Trump has threatened sanctions against the Kremlin and called for NATO countries to stop buying Russian oil to end the war.
Even so, Russian bombardment has continued in Ukraine alongside incursions into Polish and Romanian airspace - prompting RAF jets to deploy to Poland.
Read More: Without stepping foot in Alaska, Putin has already won
After being asked by Sky News whether Mr Putin is trying to trick Mr Trump, Mr Zelenskyy agreed.
He said: "Putin's doing everything he can to avoid sanctions, to prevent US and Trump from putting sanctions on him, and if you keep postponing applying sanctions any further, then the Russians will be better prepared."
"He should have received a setback in this war and stop," he said. "But instead, he received de-isolation. He got the photos with President Trump.
"He received public dialogue, and I think this opens the doors for Putin into some other summits and formats, because that's how it is, and we see that, we observe this, and I don't think he paid anything for it."
Zelenskyy said Putin "should pay, firstly, because he started the war, and secondly, because (he is) trying to find a way out of isolation".
The Ukrainian leader added: "He's waging the war and everyone is trying to stop him by arguing, by asking him - but instead force should be used,"
"He understands force. That's his language. That is the language he understands.
"He doesn't speak many languages, but that's the language of force he understands, just like Russian, his mother tongue - and we ask very much European and US countries to do that, to show that.
"Yes, they take some steps, such as sanctions, for example, but more needs to be done, quicker."