We want end to war, but not end of Ukraine: Zelensky rejects ‘weak’ deal in New Year address

Kyiv: In his New Year’s Eve address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 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, Zelensky 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,” Zelensky 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.”

Zelensky 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 per cent ready,” Zelensky said. “That 10 per cent contains everything. It will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe.”

However, he acknowledged that unresolved territorial issues remain the central obstacle to a final deal.

According to Ukrainian media reports, Russia currently occupies around 19 per cent of Ukrainian territory, largely in the southern and eastern regions. Moscow has been demanding that Kyiv withdraw from parts of the eastern Donbas region that Russian forces have not fully captured.

Ukraine, on the other hand, wants the front lines to be frozen at their current positions. Zelensky rejected Russian demands for a complete Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas, calling them “deception.”

“Does anyone still believe them? Unfortunately, yes,” he said. “Because too often the truth is avoided and called diplomacy when in fact it is simply lies dressed up in business suits.”

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday told soldiers fighting on the front lines that Moscow remains confident of prevailing in Ukraine, even as the conflict stretches into yet another year with no clear end in sight.

In a brief New Year address aired first in the Kamchatka peninsula, the easternmost Russian region to usher in 2026, Putin praised the troops engaged in the war as “heroes” and sought to project resolve after nearly four years of fighting, according to The Moscow Times.

Addressing what he described as Russia’s “fighters and commanders”, the president said, “We believe in you and our victory.”

IANS