Ukraine: Zelensky says he is ready for concessions | War in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready on Friday to accept NATO protection guarantees initially limited to territories controlled by kyiv in order to “end the hot phase of the war” led by Russia.

Nearly three years after the launch of a large-scale offensive by Vladimir Putin, the planned return of Donald Trump to the White House in January, in a context of escalation marked by Moscow’s firing of a powerful new missile towards Ukraine, revived questions about the possibility of a ceasefire.

Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested he is willing to wait before reclaiming areas occupied by the Russian army – almost a fifth of the country – if such a deal could provide security for the rest of Ukraine and end the fights.

If we want to end the hot phase of the war, we must place under the aegis ofI’LL TAKE the territory of Ukraine that we controldeclared the president to the British channel Sky Newsaccording to a muted translation of his remarks in English.

This is what we must do quickly, and then Ukraine will be able to recover the other part of its territory through diplomatic channelshe added.

kyiv has so far always ruled out ceding territories in exchange for peace, while Vladimir Putin demands that the Ukrainian army withdraw from more territories and refuses any accession by his adversary to theI’LL TAKE.

Russia’s territorial gains

Moscow controls about 18% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014. Russia has also annexed the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, although she does not control them entirely.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have made territorial gains, at a speed not seen since the start of 2022, against a weakened Ukrainian army.

And the conflict has recently intensified with massive strikes on territories controlled by kyiv, with Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening to hit decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital with his new missile Orechnik in response to the sending of missiles supplied by the United States and the United Kingdom into Russian territory.

Donald Trump criticized US aid to kyiv and claimed during his campaign that he could end the conflict within hours, although he did not say how.

Mr. Zelensky insisted that any offer to join theI’LL TAKE was to be made to the whole of Ukraine, but his comments suggest he might accept that Alliance protection, such as the collective defense clause in Article 5, only applies to the territory controlled by kyiv.

If we talk about a ceasefire, [nous avons besoin de] guarantees that Putin will not returnand said M. Zelensky in English.

Vladimir Putin has already asked kyiv to abandon its ambitions to join theI’LL TAKE if he wants a peace agreement.

Escalation of the conflict for two weeks

In the context of an escalation of the conflict for two weeks, Mr. Zelensky had a series of telephone calls with Western leaders, notably the British Keir Starmer, the French Emmanuel Macron and the German Olaf Scholz.

On this occasion, Emmanue Macron condemned in the strongest terms Russia’s indiscriminate strikes which continue to intensify against cities, against civilians and against Ukraine’s energy infrastructureindicated the French presidency.

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 Russiaadded Mr. Macron.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Friday to brief him on the U.S. goals for sustained support for Ukrainesaid State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Joe Biden’s administration has stepped up its support for kyiv since Donald Trump won the presidential election. It transferred more weapons and allowed Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory.