Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man lauded President Trump Tuesday for shortening the time frame for Russia to show willingness to make peace with Kyiv — saying it will let Vladimir Putin know that Washington is “serious” about ending the war in Ukraine.
“When the US leads, the free world follows. When America is serious, Russia backs down,” said Andriy Yermak — who runs the Ukrainian office of the president and seen as the equivalent to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. “We have seen that before, and we are starting to see it again.”
Trump, 79, told reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday that Russia now has just 10 days — until Aug. 8 — to avoid economic sanctions aimed at stopping the flow of cash funding Moscow’s more than 41-month-old invasion.
The US president originally gave Putin 50 days from July 14 to stop his brutal assault on Kyiv — but so far, the Kremlin tyrant has shown no inclination to do so, slamming Ukraine nightly with deadly bombings and drone strikes on civilians.
Should that continue, Trump has promised to levy 100% tariffs on any country that buys Russian oil — either directly or indirectly — punishing those providing Moscow with its main source of income to power its war machine.
Moscow has occasionally feigned interest in a negotiated settlement, most recently holding lower-level meetings with Ukrainian officials in Turkey last week.
Putin has repeatedly refused to meet with Zelensky, who showed up in Turkey earlier this summer after Trump urged the two belligerents to hold direct talks, only to be stood up.
At last week’s meeting, according to Yermak, Moscow’s reps kept the discussions to prisoner of war exchanges and did not entertain talk of a cease-fire.
“It is necessary to act,” Yermak told The Post in an exclusive interview. “I believe in America. I believe in President Trump.”
With the clock ticking, the Kremlin has sent public messages to downplay the effects of potential sanctions in an attempt to change Trump’s mind.
On Monday, Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev accused Trump of risking a US-Russia war, claiming that “Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran” and cannot be influenced by American strength.
“Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war,” Medvedev threatened. “Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!”
Yermak said Medvedev was “very stupid” to make such a statement, adding that Ukraine has never asked the US to get directly involved in the conflict.
“With Medvedev, I don’t know what his psychological condition is. Maybe he was drunk,” he said. “Trump is not the person who will be OK with such brutal things said against the president of the United States.”
To prove Medvedev and others wrong, Yermak argued, the only thing left for Trump to do is levy the new economic punishments and watch what happens.
“These first steps will destroy any Russian narrative and some pro-Russian forces which still try to share the narrative that nothing will happen, and that Kremlin and Putin will continue this game,” said Yermak, comparing the attempt to set the narrative to that surrounding the debate over whether then-President Biden should send Ukraine Patriot air-defense systems last year.
“What happened? We received them and the Patriots demonstrated to all the world that it is the best air defense and they destroy any kind of rockets,” he said. “It’s necessary to not believe in Russian propaganda.”
Yermak also suggested the sanctions would embolden Russians who already feel the pinch in their wallets to speak out and demand the conflict stop.
“In Russia, it is impossible to control all of the social media, and the people will receive some new information and these sanctions will create a very difficult situation in the Russian economy,” he said.
“It will work together with the huge loss [by Russia] on the front line, and people will start asking Putin more loudly: ‘For what did you start all this and why don’t you want the war to end?’”
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