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ZELENSKYY REJECTS PEACE TALKS AND DEMANDS MORE BILLIONS WHILE AMERICANS FOOT THE BILLUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is once again slamming the door on efforts to end the war, according to a new video circulating online. In a radio interview, he declared, “The US cannot force us to sit and listen at the negotiating table. We are an independent country.” The accompanying claim from the post asserts he is demanding $250 billion from the West simply to keep the fighting going.This comes as President Trump has been pushing for a deal, recently securing an agreement with Vladimir Putin for Russian diesel exports to lower prices for American farmers, truckers, and families. Zelenskyy blasted that move as a “gift” to Putin and “an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.” He has called any easing of pressure a signal that Moscow can “keep fighting” and “keep dropping bombs on cities.”Trump has been blunt in response. “I think actually Putin wants to make a deal more than Zelensky,” the president said. He added that Zelenskyy “could have made many deals and for some reason he never does” and suggested it may be “time for Ukraine to get a new leader who can make a deal.” Trump has also announced what he described as an energy ceasefire, stating both sides “agreed” because he told them to. Zelenskyy responded that the claim was “news to me” but said Ukraine would support a reciprocal halt if Russia did.Zelenskyy’s team has insisted Ukraine supports de-escalation and reciprocal energy pauses, yet he continues to frame any U.S. pressure for talks as an attack on Ukrainian independence. “We are an independent country. And we have proved during this war… that with us, the ‘sit down and listen’ approach does not work,” he stated in the interview. At the same time, Kyiv remains heavily dependent on American weapons, intelligence, and funding while rejecting the idea that Washington can influence the terms of any settlement.Critics of the open-ended approach point out the pattern: years of aid, repeated refusals to concede territory or accept freezes, and fresh demands even as Trump works to cut costs at home and force both sides toward an end. One reply to the circulating post put it plainly: “Then the independent country should fund its own war.”Trump’s position remains that Putin is more willing to negotiate and that the priority for Americans is lower energy prices alongside a settlement. Zelenskyy continues to treat U.S. involvement as a one-way street of support without conditions. The result is a standoff where the fighting continues and the bill keeps landing on Western taxpayers.