President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that some partners say they want to fight the Russian aggressor, but in parallel they go to China and shake hands with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. He said this in an interview with Le Point, as reported by UNN.
Details
The President emphasized that international pressure exists, and Ukraine is grateful to its partners for it, but this pressure is not enough.
There are ways to circumvent sanctions. Some of our partners say they want to fight the Russian aggressor, but we see them in China (at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which took place in Tianjin with the participation of Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, and many other leaders – ed.): they hug, greet, and shake hands, even if they are covered in blood. This is politics. And that's why Putin doesn't feel such a threat. In his country, Putin doesn't consider the wishes or opinions of the people. He rules the country as if his hands are on its neck. And that's why there is no social explosion in Russia. The pressure from Western partners is not strong enough economically; Putin still has financial reserves
He also commented on whether Russia would agree to a peace treaty before suffering a real military setback.
She definitely doesn't want that. We all need to know about her goals, especially considering that Putin is in a rather comfortable position today. He has absolute power, although without it he can very quickly turn into nothing. This is his philosophy. However, even in Soviet times, no one held so much power in their hands. Putin saves himself by clinging to power. He doesn't care about the economy. Of course, he has resources
But, as the President noted, in many regions, especially in rural areas, people are experiencing financial problems because all the wealth of the richest land in the world, the largest territory in the world, is now controlled by a narrow circle of people.
It is clear that Russia has a lot of money, and they don't spend it on social assistance... Creating decent living conditions for the population is expensive. They don't spend money on it, and that's why they have so many resources. Putin doesn't yet realize that his economy will suffer
Addition
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement on the results of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, which took place on August 31 – September 1, 2025, in Tianjin. The statement said that the final declaration of the summit does not contain any mention of Russian aggression against Ukraine.