‘Pressure is working': Zelenskyy sees strain on Russia, trading partners after ally huddle

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy maintained an optimistic stance on a peace deal with Russia, insisting that pressure on Moscow is working. Zelenskyy admitted that there has been a significant shift in Russia’s position on its war on Ukraine following numerous sanctions on the country.

The remarks from the Ukrainian leader came following a meeting of the ‘ Coalition of the Willing ’, which comprises several European nations along with Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. This was the largest meeting on the Russia-Ukraine war as of now.

“Pressure is working—the situation is becoming more difficult both for the Russian economy and for those who trade with Russia. We will continue along this line. Today, we spoke about new sanctions, secondary sanctions, and special trade tariffs that can help,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X.

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We are now at a special moment and special negotiations. Today, we had a meeting of the countries participating in the Coalition of the Willing—all of free Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand—the largest meeting so far in terms of the number of participating… pic.twitter.com/vLZdTRDUIW

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 4, 2025

Zelenskyy calls for international support

In his post, the Ukrainian leader emphasised that a strong army is and will remain at the centre of any form of security guarantees that will be provided to Ukraine. “A strong Ukrainian army is and will remain the central element of security guarantees. Therefore, it is about the capabilities of our army—financing, weapons, and defence production,” the Ukrainian leader averred.

“We are working to ensure all of this, and it must be in place a year from now, five years from now, and ten years from now—both in the current conditions of war and to guarantee security afterwards. We already have a basis for the plan—regarding forces and specific steps,” he added.

Zelenskyy also mentioned that 26 out of 35 nations which attended the meeting have agreed to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, and some of them also pledged to deploy troops within the war-torn nation.

In his lengthy post, the Ukrainian leader made it clear that the United States’ involvement in post-war Ukraine would be extremely crucial. “It is important that America is with us. And we are working in many formats—from initiatives such as PURL, which allow the purchase of American weapons, to the United States’ readiness to participate in security guarantees long-term,” the Ukrainian leader concluded his post.

Zelenskyy dials Trump

In a separate post, the Ukrainian leader mentioned that he had a “detailed conversation” with US President Donald Trump after the Coalition of Willing meeting in Paris.

“First and foremost, we talked about how to push the situation toward real peace. We discussed different options, and the most important one is pressure, using strong measures, particularly economic ones, to force an end to the war. The key to peace is depriving Russia’s war machine of money, depriving it of resources,” Zelenskyy wrote in the post.

A long and very detailed conversation with President Trump @POTUS. We spoke after today’s meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris. European leaders also participated on the call.

First and foremost, we talked about how to push the situation toward real peace. We… pic.twitter.com/J1qoYRho28

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 4, 2025

Zelenskyy maintained that until the peace deal between the two warring nations is reached, Ukraine should not be at the mercy of constant Russian attacks. “Russian missiles and drones must not take lives. Ukraine has proposed a format for protecting our skies for the US to consider,” he wrote.

“I thank President Trump for supporting our people. We agreed on further contacts,” the Ukrainian leader concluded in the post. It will be interesting to see how both Russia and the US will react to the meeting.