(MENAFN- UkrinForm) He said this in an interview with Axios, according to Ukrinform.

Zelensky said the sanctions "will make a difference," but suggested Putin will not budge unless Trump piles on more pressure.

"President Trump is concerned about escalation. But I think that if there are no negotiations, there will be an escalation anyway. I think that if Putin doesn't stop, we need something to stop him. Sanctions is one such weapon, but we also need long-range missiles," Zelensky said.

According to him, Trump "got a very bad reaction" in Russia over the sanctions, including belligerent comments from President Dmitry Medvedev and "anti-American and anti-Trump rhetoric" in Russian state media.

Read also: Trump on Burevestnik: Putin should end war in Ukraine, not test missiles

Zelensky said Ukraine estimates the new U.S. sanctions against Russian oil companies could cut oil exports by 50%, amounting to up to $5 billion per month in lost revenue. He expressed hope that "new secondary sanctions" and "parallel steps from Congress" would follow.

Zelensky stressed that the way to get Putin to seriously negotiate is to give Ukraine the ability to strike military and energy targets deep inside Russia.

He said he told Trump that Ukraine would not even need to use the missiles immediately. If Putin knows that not talking risks "problems with Russia's energy facilities," then he'll talk, Zelensky said.

"We speak not only about Tomahawks. The U.S. has a lot of similar things that don't require much time for training. I think the way to work with Putin is only through pressure," Zelensky said.

He also expressed hope that Trump's upcoming meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea will result in a Chinese commitment to reduce oil purchases from Russia as part of a broader U.S.-China trade deal.

He called the Trump-Xi dialogue "very important."

"I think the strongest step is if India and China will not buy energy from Russia, first of all oil," Zelensky said.

Zelensky earlier expressed hope that the U.S. would ultimately provide Ukraine with Tomahawk long-range missiles.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to pay a three-day state visit to South Korea next week to attend the APEC summit, which President Donald Trump will also attend.

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