The Ukrainian president spoke about the terms of a possible ceasefire. He requests immediate protection from NATO against the temporary abandonment of certain territories.
This is the first time that Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is ready to make so many concessions. Friday, November 29, in an interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president gave the terms of a possible ceasefire with Russia. First of all, he asks, as since the start of the Russian invasion, that Ukraine be placed “under the aegis of NATO”. This protection would be “a solution to end the hot phase of the war”, but would only concern the territories still controlled by kyiv. According to the Ukrainian president, this is a “possible solution, but no one has offered it”, while the country “greatly needs it”, in order to “guarantee that Putin will not return”.
Temporary abandonment of territories occupied by Russia
In exchange for this NATO protection, Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that he could temporarily abandon the Ukrainian territories already controlled by Russia. “We must act quickly. And then, on the territory [occupé] of Ukraine, Ukraine will be able to recover them through diplomatic channels.” A first for the Ukrainian president, who had never agreed to cede any territory to his enemy, including Crimea, annexed by Russia in March 2014 In total, around 20% of Ukrainian territories are under the aegis of Moscow.
Why now?
This proposal from Volodymyr Zelensky comes after more than 1,000 days of open war against Russia. Several elements participated in the Ukrainian president’s reflection. First of all, the election of Donald Trump in the United States. The US president-elect has a very different position from Joe Biden on the war in Ukraine. Indeed, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin maintain a special bond and have great mutual respect. A worrying relationship for Ukraine, which depends on American military aid, while Donald Trump affirmed during his campaign that he could put an end to this war in 24 hours. Volodymyr Zelensky nevertheless affirmed his desire to “work directly with him because there are different voices around him”.
This possible ceasefire would also come a few days after the intensification of Russian and Ukrainian bombings. On November 17, Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike targets on Russian soil. An announcement which came barely two months before the transfer of power between the current president and Donald Trump and as Ukraine enters its third winter at war. Ukraine can also use British Storm Shadow missiles. Concerning French missiles, Emmanuel Macron assured that their use on Russian soil was an “option”, but without coming out firmly in favor of a “yes”.
In response to this American authorization, Russia has been bombing Ukrainian territory for two weeks, with nearly 90 missiles already launched at the country’s electrical installations. Several million Ukrainians found themselves in the dark and without heating, while the mercury already fell below 0°C at night. On Friday, kyiv announced that it had been targeted by 132 Russian drones overnight, leaving one dead and eight injured. Russia also used the “Orechnik” hypersonic ballistic missile on Ukraine on November 22, while threatening to repeat this attack on kyiv, but also on Western countries which arm Ukraine.
An “unacceptable logic of escalation” for Emmanuel Macron, who spoke on Friday, November 29, with his Ukrainian counterpart, reports the Élysée. “These strikes, the increased cooperation with North Korea and the irresponsible rhetoric that accompanies them, are part of an unacceptable logic of escalation on the part of Russia,” said the French president, who reaffirmed “determination” of France to continue helping Ukraine “as intensely and as long as necessary”.
