President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin “needs” US President Donald Trump and is unlikely to “antagonize” him ahead of winter – even as Moscow views the season as a chance to weaken Ukraine. Zelensky made the remarks in an interview with Axios on Monday, Sept. 7, while also revealing possible new outcomes of the negotiations, following the weekend discussions in Kyiv with senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Although he declined to disclose further details, Zelensky said that “there are ideas around energy [facilities] and around grain [shipments], around electricity [facilities] and around oil and gas [exports].” “We have different interests, Russia and we,” he continued. Asked whether Putin might want to give Trump a diplomatic win ahead of the US elections, Zelensky confirmed, saying he believes that Putin might be pressured by the Trump administration to de-escalate the war. Kremlin relies on winter pressure Zelensky noted that he remains convinced Putin views the approaching winter as leverage to push Kyiv into further concessions. “Russia really thinks that this winter can help them to break us,” he told Axios, suggesting Moscow anticipates a renewed assault on infrastructure may leave Ukraine “more compromising.” He maintained that Kyiv has already exhausted its capacity for concessions and that any settlement would require firm security guarantees alongside economic backing.