Putin Expressed Zelensky’s Expectations

The new president of Ukraine “received a bitter legacy from his predecessors,” Putin said. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky first must solve the issue of how to develop relations with Donbass, stated Putin at a session of Russian Energy Week on Wednesday, October 2. Putin noted that Ukraine has lost the status of an industrial country after the collapse of the Soviet Union. “As for Mr. Zelensky, he faces great challenges: the country is in a very difficult situation. The level of GDP did not just fall off, but collapsed. It is in connection with the loss of the Russian market. Some industries of Ukraine just practically ceased to exist. When Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union with Russia, it was a high-tech industrial republic. It has lost the status of an industrial country ... This is a bitter legacy, and, of course, Zelensky has a lot of issues to solve, but first of all, of course, to solve the issue of how Ukraine’s relations with Donbass will develop,” the Russian president said. Putin previously described his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. Korrespondent