White House comments on Trump's approach to possible talks between Ukraine and Russia

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby has commented on the approaches of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump regarding Ukraine, emphasizing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must decide when to start negotiations, according to Ukrinform.

"Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. We are not going to talk about them without their involvement, we will not dictate what their next steps should be," Kirby stated.

He noted that while he will not engage in disputes with Trump's position, he underscored that as long as Joe Biden is the President of the United States, the Ukrainian leader will find "champions in the process of moving towards negotiations" within his administration.

Kirby also highlighted that the current U.S. administration is doing everything necessary to ensure that the Ukrainian Defense Forces achieve success on the battlefield and complicate Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's plans to prolong the war. Notably, Putin has already turned to North Korea for assistance, Kirby added.

On December 12, Trump criticized the authorization for Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to strike Russian territory in an interview with Time. However, he promised not to abandon Ukraine, but aid will be leverage against Russia.

On December 15, Trump's incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz stated that the new president's team would be ready to "carefully consider" a ceasefire as the first step towards ending the war in Ukraine.

On December 16, Trump announced that his team would speak with both Putin and Zelenskyy to end the war.

Trump has previously indicated that there is some progress in ending the war in Ukraine.