Trump stated that Zelensky's desire for peace with Russia is "something new," and he fabricated a new figure for Russian casualties.

The elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for peace, sharing with The New York Post on December 8 about his meetings with world leaders and Jill Biden during his first foreign trip after the election victory to Paris. Trump praised French President Emmanuel Macron highly and admitted that his conversation with Biden's wife was "pleasant." The American leader called for peace in Ukraine from Russian ruler Vladimir Putin.

Trump confessed that he did not discuss with Zelensky the details and conditions of a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. However, the elected president assured that he is developing a concept of "how to end this senseless war."

"He (Zelensky) wants to make peace. This is something new. He wants a ceasefire. He thinks it's time, and Putin should think it's time because he has lost - when you lose 700,000 people, it's time. This won't end until peace is achieved," Trump stated.

He also mentioned that he spoke with Macron about NATO. The elected US president reiterated that, in his opinion, the alliance needs to "pay its fair share" of defense costs.

"I said that NATO is good as long as they pay their bills, but they need to pay their bills because, you know, when I got involved with NATO, nobody was paying, and then they started paying when I intervened," Trump said.

He assured that Macron agrees with this. Overall, the French president is a "good person; he has done a good job."

"I told him: 'You have no idea what a great job you did' in that chapel (referring to Notre-Dame Cathedral - ed.). That's very hard to do. Thoroughly," Trump told the New York Post.

Trump noted that he spoke at the Notre-Dame opening with First Lady Jill Biden. He described their meeting as positive and pleasant, despite their long history of hurtful remarks about each other during two election cycles.

"It's politics. You have to get used to it. She was very nice, and we had a very pleasant conversation," the elected president said about political disputes with Jill Biden in the past.

Trump called for peace, Zelensky adjusted his statement on Ukraine's losses

As reported by Informator, on December 8, after a meeting in Paris with the Ukrainian leader, Trump posted on social media Truth Social a call for an immediate ceasefire and the start of negotiations. He emphasized that now is the "time for Vladimir (Putin) to act, and China can help," as Ukraine has reportedly indicated that it is ready for a deal with the Russian Federation.

According to Trump, Ukraine is weakened, having supposedly lost 400,000 soldiers and many more civilians. Therefore, he emphasized, "Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness." The American politician added that "about 600,000 Russian soldiers are either injured or dead in a war that should never have started and could last forever."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on December 8, presumably in response to Trump, publicly named the losses of the Russian Federation, as well as for the first time since February 2024 – Ukraine's losses. Since the onset of the full-scale war, Ukraine has lost 43,000 warriors, with 370,000 instances of assistance recorded for the wounded. Updated data on Russian losses exceeds 750,000 military personnel, Zelensky emphasized. This includes 198,000 dead Russians and over 550,000 wounded.

Zelensky met with Trump in Paris

On December 7, Volodymyr Zelensky met in Paris with Donald Trump. The latter arrived in the French capital for the opening of the legendary Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame Cathedral) dressed in symbolic attire - the elected US leader wore a blue suit and a yellow tie. Following the meeting with Trump, Zelensky stated that it was productive and that Trump is determined. In Zelensky's opinion, peace through strength is possible. He added that the value of the meeting lies in the fact that partners heard Ukraine's clear position "not through third parties."

Zelensky also mentioned that the meeting with President Trump "was good," discussing "important matters on the battlefield in Ukraine and the global situation - from our front to North Korea." However, this did not prevent the Ukrainian leader from rejecting the American's proposal for an immediate ceasefire in response to the statement that Ukraine is supposedly ready for a deal with the Russian Federation.