“This is what we need to do quickly, and then Ukraine can get the other part of its territory back through diplomatic channels,” he added.
Discussions over a possible ceasefire or peace deal have intensified since Donald Trump won the US presidential election in early November.
Invasion of Ukraine – Zelensky accuses Russia of dropping cluster munitions on energy sites
The Republican leader criticized US aid to kyiv and claimed during his campaign that he could end the conflict within hours.
“If we talk about a ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Putin will not return,” Mr. Zelensky said in English.
Moscow controls about 18% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, including the Crimean peninsula which it annexed in 2014. Russia has also annexed the oblasts (regions) of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, although it does not fully control them.
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 of his adversary to NATO.
