KYIV: In his New Year’s Eve address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wants the war to end but will not accept a weak peace agreement, stressing that any deal must not come at the cost of the country’s future. His remarks came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his belief that Moscow would prevail in the ongoing conflict.
Speaking just before midnight in a 21-minute televised address to the nation, Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukrainians were exhausted after nearly four years of war, a period he noted was longer than the German occupation of many Ukrainian cities during World War II.
However, he made it clear that fatigue would not translate into capitulation. “What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “We want an end to the war but not the end of Ukraine.”
“Are we tired? Very,” he said. “Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken.”
The Ukrainian leader warned that any agreement without firm and credible guarantees would only prolong the conflict rather than resolve it.
“Any signature placed on weak agreements only fuels the war,” he said. “My signature will be placed on a strong agreement.”
Zelenskyy said that ongoing diplomatic efforts were focused on securing a durable and meaningful settlement. “That is exactly what every meeting, every phone call, every decision is about now,” he said. “To secure a strong peace — not for a day, a week or two months, but peace for years.”
He added that weeks of US-led diplomacy, including talks held last weekend with US President Donald Trump in Florida, had brought negotiations close to completion.
“A peace agreement is 90 percent ready,” Zelenskyy said. “That 10 percent contains everything. It will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe.” (IANS)
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