Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has a stark warning for Kremlin officials: If Russia refuses to end the war, they’d better start memorizing the locations of their nearest bomb shelters.

In an interview with Axios, the Ukrainian leader said he now has the explicit backing of President Trump to target Russia’s energy infrastructure and arms factories, adding that if his country secures additional long-range weaponry from America, it will use it.

“They have to know where the bomb shelters are,” Mr. Zelensky said at New York late Wednesday, following his address to the U.N. General Assembly. “They need it. If they will not stop the war, they will need it in any case.”

“They have to know that we in Ukraine, each day, we will answer. If they attack us, we will answer them.”

Mr. Zelensky declared that Ukraine will not target civilians because “we are not terrorists” — but said he will make clear that Russia’s seats of power, including the Kremlin itself, remain squarely in his nation’s crosshairs.

During the interview, which will air in full Friday on “The Axios Show” on YouTube, Mr. Zelensky noted that Ukrainian forces already have drones that can strike deep inside Russia. Now, he is seeking an additional, unspecified weapon system that he says will force President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.

“President Trump knows, I [told] him yesterday what we need, one thing,” he said, adding that Mr. Trump replied, “We will work on it.”

“We need it, but it doesn’t mean that we will use it,” Mr. Zelensky continued. “Because if we’ll have it, I think it’s additional pressure on Putin to sit and speak.”

Mr. Trump said this week on Truth Social that he now believes Ukraine can win the war, reversing his earlier warnings that Kyiv had few cards to play.

After meeting with Mr. Zelensky on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said he believes the Europeans can help Ukraine reclaim its “original borders” and “maybe even go further than that.”

“I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form. With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option,” Mr. Trump wrote.

He also described Russia as a “paper tiger” that has been “fighting aimlessly for three and a half years,” adding that a “Real Military Power” could have conquered Ukraine in “less than a week.”

“Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”