“By diplomatic means”: Zelensky says he wants the war to end in 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted an end to the war in his country in 2025 by “diplomatic means” in an interview broadcast on Saturday. However, he estimated that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is not looking for peace.

Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke of a “really complicated” situation on the eastern front, where the Russian army is progressing rapidly against fewer and less well-armed Ukrainian troops.

“We must do everything to ensure that this war ends next year. We must put an end to it by diplomatic means,” he said in an interview with Ukrainian radio.

Asked about the conditions necessary for the opening of negotiations, the leader estimated that this would only be possible if “Ukraine is not alone with Russia” and if it is “strong”, in a strong call to its Western partners.

“If we only talk with Putin, only with a murderer, and we find ourselves in the current conditions, not reinforced by some important elements, I think that Ukraine will lose from these negotiations,” said Volodymyr Zelensky . According to him, this would not lead to “a just end” to the war, triggered by the Russian invasion of February 2022.

kyiv fears losing the support of the United States, essential for its army in difficulty on the front, after the victory of Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election. The latter has often criticized the aid provided by his country and assured that he could resolve the conflict in “24 hours” without ever detailing his method. Volodymyr Zelensky fears being forced into negotiations unfavorable to Ukraine.

Opposing positions

On Friday, kyiv was annoyed by a telephone conversation between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin, the first meeting in almost two years between the two leaders. Talking to Vladimir Putin “opens Pandora’s box,” the Ukrainian president castigated.

The Russian and Ukrainian positions are nevertheless opposed. kyiv excludes the cession of territories occupied by the Russian army, while Moscow sets it as conditions. Vladimir Putin again told Olaf Scholz on Friday that a peace agreement with Ukraine should take into account “new territorial realities”, according to the Kremlin.

In his interview on Saturday, the Ukrainian president estimated that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was seeking to break out of his “political isolation” by speaking to leaders, but “Putin does not want peace at all,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelensky also judged that “the situation in the east is really complicated”. The Russian army is advancing against Ukrainian troops because the resupply of weapons and new recruits is “slow,” explained the Ukrainian president, while emphasizing Moscow’s heavy human losses.

The Russian Defense Ministry also claimed Saturday the capture of two new villages in the Donetsk region.

ATS