Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that the war with Russia might end sooner than many anticipate.
“I believe we are closer to peace than we think. We just need to be very strong,” he stated.
In an interview with US broadcaster ABC News, Zelensky also mentioned that the victory plan he will present to US President Joe Biden this week will require Ukraine’s allies to “strengthen” the Ukrainian military.
He clarified that the plan does not involve negotiations with Russia but serves as “a bridge to a diplomatic solution, to halt the war.”
Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine can only compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict if Kyiv approaches the situation from a “strong position.”
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that Russia is cautious regarding media reports about Ukraine’s plan, asserting that the conflict will only conclude once Russia achieves its objectives.
Zelensky has repeatedly urged Western nations to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles capable of striking deep into Russia, a request he is expected to reiterate during his upcoming visit to the US.
On Sunday, Biden indicated that he had not yet made a decision on whether to grant Ukraine this permission. Zelensky stated that the US would need to take the lead on the matter: “Everyone is looking to [Biden], and we need this to defend ourselves,” he told ABC.
Zelensky is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday and is also set to meet with US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Czech Republic President Petr Pavel told the New York Times that Ukraine must be “realistic” about its chances of reclaiming territories in the east that Russia has captured over the past 31 months of war.
He suggested that a portion of Ukrainian territory is likely to remain under Russian occupation for several years.
Pavel stated that a complete defeat of either Ukraine or Russia “will simply not happen,” adding that the resolution of the conflict will likely fall “somewhere in between.”
Zelensky’s visit to the US occurs amid ongoing sustained attacks on Ukraine by Russia.
On Monday night, an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Poltava damaged infrastructure, while in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia one person died and six were wounded following “massive air strikes”.
Russian troops have made serious advances in the east and are closing in on Vuhledar – a city on the southern part of the Donbas frontline that the Russians have been trying to seize since the beginning of their full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian military expert and retired colonel Kostyantyn Mashovets warned his fellow Ukrainians they had to be “psychologically prepared” for the loss of Selydove, Toretsk and Vuhledar in Donbas.
“I would love to be wrong,” he wrote on Facebook.
“But from the information I have… this is a very likely scenario of events in the near future.”