Trump says 'courageous' Zelenskyy is 'doing pretty well' in war with Russia

"You have to say he's courageous, he's got great equipment, he's got great men, he's got fighters," Trump said of Zelenskyy. US President Donald Trump heaped praise on Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, calling his Ukrainian counterpart "courageous" and saying he was "doing pretty well" in the war against Russia. Speaking to reporters from the White House alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump said: "He's doing pretty well, no matter how you look at it". "He's holding his own at least," Trump continued. "A lot of people dying on both sides, but I think he's doing pretty well". "You have to say he's courageous, he's got great equipment, he's got great men, he's got fighters," he added. Trump's comments come as Kyiv looks to cut off the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula by attacking energy industry infrastructure and transport links. Ukraine's defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has said Crimea would soon "turn into an island". "Logistics are being cut off," he said in an interview with the YouTube channel Pressing, adding: "This could lead to some very unexpected consequences for the Russians". Ukrainian attacks on the peninsula have sparked a major fuel crisis in the region, with long queues for petrol stations and limited supply. Zelenskyy has said Russian forces are now redeploying some air defence assets to guard the Crimean Bridge, Russian President Vladimir Putin's prized road connecting Crimea to Russian-occupied territory on the mainland. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Wednesday that its forces had carried out a number of strikes on air defence systems and military airfields in Crimea. It said the strikes hit four aircraft hangars at the Saky airfield. "In addition, near Kerch, two components of an S-400 anti-aircraft missile system were destroyed, as well as two 'Pantsir-S1’ anti-aircraft missile and gun systems," the SBU said in a post on Telegram. Zelenskyy met with Rutte and the leaders of the E5 - France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom - this week to discuss Ukraine's own air defences. Rutte and the E5 leaders pledged to continue support for Ukraine moving forward. "You can count on us now and in the future, so that you can defend yourself, that you are stronger at the negotiating table, that you can deter aggression in the future and on your irreversible path into NATO," Rutte said during the meeting.