Zelensky urges Trump to visit Ukraine to see war devastation
KIEV
A Ukrainian rescuer walks by a burned car in front of damaged building at the site of a missile attack in Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, on April 13, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged U.S. counterpart Donald Trump to visit his country to better understand the devastation wrought by Russia's invasion.
"Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead," he said in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview broadcast on April 13.
With a visit to Ukraine, Trump "will understand what [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin did."
"You will understand with whom you have a deal," Zelensky added.
Zelensky's invitation follows the heated row at the White House in late February between the Ukrainian president, Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance, which played out in front of press.
Vance at the time accused Ukraine of hosting foreign leaders on "propaganda tours" to win support.
Zelensky repeated his denial of that allegation, and told CBS that if Trump chose to visit Ukraine, "we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater."
"You can go exactly where you want, in any city which [has] been under attacks."
Trump is pushing for a quick end to the more than three-year war, with the United States holding direct talks with Russia despite its unrelenting attacks on Ukraine.
Washington has also held talks with Ukrainian officials on a potential truce, while European nations are discussing a military deployment to reinforce any Ukraine ceasefire.
Kiev has previously agreed to a U.S.-proposed unconditional ceasefire but Moscow has turned it down.
"Putin can't be trusted. I told that to President Trump many times. So when you ask why the ceasefire isn't working.. this is why," Zelensky said.
"Putin never wanted an end to the war. Putin never wanted us to be independent. Putin wants to destroy us completely... our sovereignty and our people."
The Ukrainian leader said he had "100 percent hatred" for Putin.
However he added that the animosity "doesn't mean we shouldn't work to end the war as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, world leaders condemned a Russian missile strike on Ukraine on April 13, one of the deadliest attacks in months, while Trump called it a "horrible thing" and a "mistake."
Two ballistic missiles hit the center of the northeastern city of Sumy, killing at least 34 people and wounding more than 100 others, Ukrainian authorities said.
France's President Emmanuel Macron said the strike on Sumy showed Russia's "blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump".
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "appalled" by the attack, which Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni described as a "cowardly" act by Russia.
Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz described it as "a serious war crime, deliberate and intended."
"Our army hits only military and military-related targets," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing yesterday when asked about the strike and comments by Trump that Russia might have "made a mistake."
