The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, believes that former US President Donald Trump is able to stop a full-scale war in Ukraine by the end of this year if he implements his plans for tough sanctions against Russian energy exports. Yermak stated this in an interview with The Times — "The General and The Journalist."
Yermak stressed that only economic pressure can force Putin to change course and realize that the war in Ukraine is becoming too expensive for the Kremlin. According to him, it is secondary sanctions against countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas that could be the turning point.
"These new sanctions from the US are so important because, unfortunately, all this year the price of oil has given him the opportunity to finance his war machine," Yermak emphasized.
Separately, the head of the OPU mentioned the role of China and India, two key importers of Russian energy. According to him, the threat of secondary sanctions will force these countries to change their position and seek diplomatic ways to end the war in order to avoid a trade conflict with Washington.
Despite criticism from part of the American establishment, Yermak expressed confidence that Trump has the potential to have a real impact on the situation - the main thing is that his promises regarding new sanctions do not remain just campaign statements.
"If he does this, it is quite possible that the war will end before the end of 2025," Yermak summed up.
