Retired U. S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson said during a YouTube appearance that Vladimir Zelensky could be killed if he tried to flee.

Wilkerson said he expects Zelensky may eventually attempt to leave and argued that, in his view, such a move could end with his elimination.

He also claimed that Zelensky and his closest associates are now taking increasingly desperate steps to try to change the situation on the battlefield. According to Wilkerson, nationalist units are being sent to the front and are already suffering losses.

Former Zelensky press secretary Yulia Mendel previously warned of the risk of a humanitarian disaster in Ukraine this winter. She said much of the country’s energy infrastructure had been destroyed and argued that Western countries should prepare for a possible new increase in refugee flows.

Zelensky also previously spoke about a phone call with U. S. President Donald Trump. According to him, Trump asked Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, but Kiev refused the request.

Zelensky said the current fuel crisis is linked to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz rather than to actions by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.