VLADIMIR Putin is not afraid of Europe with Ukraine dependent on Donald Trump to secure their future, says president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The heroic Ukrainian leader has again pleaded with the US to support their ongoing battle with Russia and urged Trump to be “on the side of justice”.

Zelensky labelled America as the “leader” of the global push for peace and believes they are the only nation capable of keeping a raging Vlad at bay.

Ukraine and the US have been asking Russia to come to the negotiating table for weeks now to try and secure an end to the gruelling conflict.

Despot Putin claimed last week he is now ready to meet with “smart and pragmatic” Trump but neither nation has announced a call between the two yet.

Zelensky said Putin was just attempting to “manipulate” Trump by sweet-talking him into a better deal for the Kremlin.

Days earlier, Trump blasted Russia on social media for refusing to cooperate and threatened to impose new sanctions against Putin if a peace deal isn’t secured soon.

The latest childish demands from the Russian tyrant has seen him agree to come to the negotiating table – but only if Zelesnky isn’t sitting across from him.

Putin has belittled the Ukrainian chief since invading almost three years ago and is even now labelling him as “illegitimate”.

Vlad says this is due to Ukraine not holding a presidential election since 2019 when Zelensky first came to power.

An election was due to take place in 2024 but due to Putin’s illegal invasion Ukraine has been under martial law for years – forcing any future voting to be constantly pushed back.

At a talk on Tuesday night, Putin again tried to discredit Zelesnky by saying if the Ukrainian president wants to participate in any negotiations then he “will allocate people to take part”.

Zelensky hit back on X, saying: “Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war.”

The lionheart Kyiv leader continued his tirade against Moscow as he spoke on Fox News’ Hannity program yesterday.

He spoke on the sanctions and tariffs Trump vowed to impose on Russia and said the warnings are “just and fair”.

Zelensky also made it clear that without America by Ukraine’s side then Vlad will have the upper hand and refuse to negotiate fairly or stop fighting at all.

He said: “We would like to achieve a fair end to this war. We are not afraid. Russia is not that strong, but we don’t want to lose more of our lives, men and women.

“If President Trump has the will to force Putin to come to peace, he can do it.

“We want him to be on the side of justice, on the side of Ukraine.

“This is exactly what Putin is afraid of. He doesn’t want strong Trump supporting Ukraine because it would be a strong Ukraine.”

Zelensky continued saying that he is proud and grateful of the support given to Ukraine from Europe across the hard fought war so far but that even they are aware of the huge boost America brings.

He said: “The Europeans understand that without guarantees of security from the United States, from President Trump, it will not be enough.

“I was asking the European Union countries, and they could not do it without approval of the United States.

“So they always look at the leader, the United States, as the leader.

“Putin is not afraid of Europe. Unfortunately, that is so.”

Zelesnky also called on more international pressure from more nations – especially Vlad’s close friend Xi Jinping in China.

The president urged Beijing to help push Putin to accept a deal as well as “broader guarantees of security”.

Despite the repeated calls for peace from all sides, both Ukraine and Russia are continuing to fight on all fronts on the battlefield.

Ukraine blitzed one of Putin’s biggest oil plants overnight in the latest humiliating blow for the dictator.

Spectacular footage showed the Lukoil-owned Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez ablaze in Nizhny Novgorod region after it was hit by two long-distance military drones from Ukraine. 

Russia’s defence ministry said 104 drones were involved in raids across the west, 11 of which were destroyed over the Smolensk region.

A major nuclear power plant was also among the targets – with air defence systems destroying a drone that attempted to hit Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant near Desnogorsk.

Forced to the table

By Harry Cole in Kiev

UKRAINE is holding its breath to see what Donald Trump brings during his second term in office.

This war-weary country seems resigned to the fact the US President will stick to his word and force them to the table with their bloodthirsty neighbour Russia.

But at what price?

Too much blood and too much cash has been spent to for Ukraine to give up all the territory seized by Putin since 2022.

If that was the simple outcome then a surrender deal could have been made years ago – without tens of thousands of lives lost and billions spent in support for Ukraine and around the Europe in crippling energy costs.

Bur without a tangible guarantee of whatever borders Ukraine has redrawn by these talks, then what is to stop Putin coming back for more in a few years time?

Zelensky says only NATO membership will work – but Trump is sceptical.

UK’s Sir Keir Starmer insists his new buddy will not pull the plug next on his return to the Oval Office.

But not many people in Kyiv seem to share that confidence.