Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country wants the war with Russia to end, but that he will not sign a “weak” peace deal that would only prolong the conflict.
Sitting in his office, with a festive tree in the background, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians were exhausted after nearly four years of war, longer than the German occupation of many Ukrainian cities during World War II.
But they were not willing to give up, he said in his New Year’s speech.
“What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any price? No. We want an end to the war, but not the end of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy, wearing a dark green embroidered Ukrainian shirt, said in the 21-minute speech delivered just before midnight.
‘Are we tired? Really bad. Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who thinks that is seriously mistaken.’
Zelensky said any signature placed on weak agreements only fuels the war.
“My signature will be placed on a strong agreement. And that is exactly what every meeting, every phone call, every decision is about now,” he said.
“To secure a strong peace for all, not for a day, a week or two months, but peace for years.”
Zelenskyy said weeks of US-led diplomacy, including his talks last weekend with US President Donald Trump in Florida, had produced a peace deal that was close to completion.
“A peace deal is 90 percent done, and there is still 10 percent left,” he said.
“That 10 percent includes everything, it is the 10 percent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe and how people will live.”
Russia holds about 19 percent of Ukraine’s territory in the south and east, but Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from parts of the eastern Donbas region that Russian forces have not captured.
Ukraine wants the map frozen at the current battle lines, and Zelenskyy dismisses Russian demands for a complete withdrawal from the Donbas as a “fraud.”
“Does anyone still believe them? Unfortunately, yes,” he said. “Because too often the truth is avoided and called diplomacy, when in fact it is just lies dressed up in business suits.”
Ukrainian and European officials previously rejected Russia’s claims that Ukraine carried out a drone attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s personal residence this week.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Ukraine had tried to attack Putin’s residence in the northern Novgorod region with dozens of drones, adding that Russia would revise its negotiating position as a result.
U.S. national security officials have discovered that Ukraine did not attack Putin or any of his homes with a drone strike, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The newspaper reported that the conclusion was supported by a CIA assessment that found there was no attempt to attack Putin or any of his residences.
US President Donald Trump initially expressed sympathy for the Russian accusation, telling reporters on Monday that Putin had informed him of the alleged incident and that he was “very angry” about it.
On Wednesday, he appeared more skeptical, sharing on social media a New York Post editorial accusing Russia of blocking peace in Ukraine.
Ukraine has denied carrying out such an attack, describing the accusation as a Russian disinformation campaign aimed at driving a wedge between Ukraine and the US after a meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy that both sides described as cordial and productive.
In a detailed briefing document distributed to EU delegations on Tuesday, Ukraine claimed that the Russian accusations were aimed at “sabotaging” agreements reached during the meeting between Trump and Zelensky in South Florida.
On Wednesday, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, called Russia’s claims “a deliberate distraction.”
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