KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that his country will emerge victorious in its war against Russia, rejecting calls for territorial concessions as the price of a ceasefire with Vladimir Putin.
In an interview at government headquarters in Kyiv, Zelensky dismissed proposals that Ukraine should withdraw from strategic areas in the eastern Donetsk region and southern territories partly occupied by Russian forces. Moscow currently controls roughly 20pc of Ukraine’s territory following its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“I believe that Putin has already started it,” Zelensky said, referring to what he described as a broader global conflict. “The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him. Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life.”
Russia has demanded that Ukraine formally cede areas it occupies in Donetsk, as well as parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in exchange for a ceasefire. Zelensky rejected that approach.
“I don’t look at it simply as land,” he said. “I see it as abandonment — weakening our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our people who live there. That would divide our society.”
He argued that any pause in fighting without firm security guarantees would allow Moscow to regroup. “It would probably satisfy him for a while… he needs a pause,” Zelensky said. “But once he recovers — maybe in a couple of years — where would he go next? We do not know. But that he would want to continue is a fact.”
His comments come as US President Donald Trump presses Kyiv to accelerate ceasefire talks. Trump has publicly urged Ukraine to “come to the table fast,” while Western diplomats say Washington favours territorial concessions as a pathway to halting the war.
Zelensky rejected claims that Ukraine cannot win without compromise.
“Will we lose? Of course not, because we are fighting for Ukraine’s independence,” he said.
He defined victory as preserving sovereignty and ultimately restoring Ukraine’s internationally recognised 1991 borders, following independence from the Soviet Union. However, he acknowledged that reclaiming all occupied territory by force now would come at an unacceptable human cost.
“What is land without people? Honestly, nothing,” he said, adding that Ukraine lacks sufficient weapons to launch large-scale offensives without stronger support from partners.
Military aid from the United States has slowed in recent months, although Washington continues to provide intelligence support. European governments have increased defence spending and are purchasing US weapons for transfer to Kyiv.
Zelensky also addressed calls for Ukraine to hold elections despite martial law, introduced after Russia’s invasion. He said elections were technically possible if laws were amended, but only after credible security guarantees were secured.
“If this is a condition for ending the war, let’s do it,” he said. “But hold them in a way that the Ukrainian people will recognise. And you must recognise them as legitimate.”
On US reliability, Zelensky stressed that long-term guarantees must be institutional, not personal. “Presidents change, but institutions stay,” he said, suggesting congressional approval would be needed for durable security commitments.
As the war enters another year, Zelensky framed the conflict as part of a wider geopolitical struggle.
“Stopping Putin today and preventing him from occupying Ukraine is a victory for the whole world,” he said. “For us, success is to stop Putin.”
