Interrogated on the British network Sky News, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, seemed to begin, on Friday, November 29, to soften his speech about the integrity of Ukrainian territory, to allow a freeze in the conflict with Russia.
“If we want to end the hot phase of the war, we must put the territory of Ukraine that we control under the umbrella of NATO”Zelensky declared, according to a voiceover translation of his comments in English. “This is what we have to do quickly, and then Ukraine will be able to recover the other part of its territory through diplomatic channels”he continued, suggesting that he was willing to wait before recapturing areas currently occupied by the Russian military, if such an agreement could provide security for the rest of Ukraine and end the fighting.
Russia controls about 18% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014. Moscow also annexed the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia, although it does not control them completely.
Until now, kyiv has always ruled out ceding territories in exchange for peace, while Vladimir Putin demands that the Ukrainian army withdraw from more territories and rejects any accession of his adversary to NATO. The Russian president has already asked kyiv to abandon its ambitions to join the Atlantic Alliance if it wants a peace deal.
“Guarantees that Putin will not return”
Nearly three years after Moscow launched a large-scale offensive, Donald Trump’s planned return to the White House in January 2025 has revived doubts about the possibility of a ceasefire. The Republican criticized American aid to kyiv and claimed during his campaign that he could end the war in a matter of hours, although he did not say how.
The conflict has recently escalated with massive attacks on territories controlled by kyiv, with Vladimir Putin threatening to attack decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital with his new “Orechnik” missile in response to the shipment of missiles provided by the United States and the United Kingdom on Russian territory. And Moscow’s forces have made territorial advances in recent weeks, at a speed not seen since early 2022, against a weakened Ukrainian army.
Zelensky has frequently insisted that any offer of NATO membership must be made to all of Ukraine, but his comments on Friday suggested he might accept that the Atlantic Alliance’s protections, such as Article 5’s collective defense clause, only apply to the territory controlled by kyiv. . “If we talk about a ceasefire, [nous avons besoin de] guarantees that Putin will not return »Zelensky said in English.
Macron condemns Moscow’s ‘irresponsible rhetoric’
In the context of a two-week escalation of the conflict, the Ukrainian president held a series of telephone conversations with Western leaders, in particular with the British Keir Starmer, the French Emmanuel Macron and the German Olaf Scholz.
On this occasion, Emmanuel Macron “We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s indiscriminate attacks that continue to escalate against Ukraine’s cities, civilians and energy infrastructure.”according to the French presidency. “These attacks, increased cooperation with North Korea, and the irresponsible rhetoric that accompanies them are part of an unacceptable logic of escalation by Russia.”Macron added.
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The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, also spoke this Friday with the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, to inform him of the “US Goals for Sustainable Support to Ukraine”said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. Joe Biden’s administration has stepped up its support for kyiv since Trump won the election, transferring more weapons and allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory.
