Zelensky vows no compromise: Ukraine rejects conflict freeze
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has ruled out "freezing" the conflict with Russia. He stated that such a scenario is not possible, even after Donald Trump takes office.
The newly elected President of the USA, Donald Trump, wants to quickly end the war in Ukraine. However, Kyiv does not intend to "surrender" or "freeze" military actions for negotiations, stated the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Trump knows about my desire not to rush to Ukraine's detriment. The country has been fighting for its sovereignty for a long time. No matter how many presidents or prime ministers have wanted to announce an end to the war, we are not going to simply surrender and abandon our independence," declared Zelensky during a conversation with "Le Parisien". According to the President of Ukraine, "freezing" the war and quickly reaching an agreement with Russia carry risks.
Is Trump wrong?
Zelensky also emphasised that Trump does not yet have access to all the necessary information about the war, including the Pentagon's intelligence data and certain diplomatic channels.
"When he is there (in the White House - ed.), we will be able to speak the same language, with the same level of information," the President of Ukraine remarked.
Zelensky expressed hope that the changes which will occur in the USA after Trump assumes power will be beneficial for Ukraine. "Our team is already working with President Trump’s team. Building relations with the new administration will be our priority. The United States has been and remains our leading donor in this war," noted Zelensky.
Meeting in Paris
On 7 December, Zelensky and Trump met in Paris. During the meeting, according to Reuters sources, the newly elected President of the USA stated that it is necessary to immediately cease fire in Ukraine and move to peace negotiations. However, he did not present any plan to resolve the conflict, which caused increasing uncertainty in Kyiv. Trump, however, emphasised that Ukraine, in the event of the war ending, should receive security guarantees.
After the meeting, Trump stated that the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, should prepare to end the war, because he has suffered significant losses and "lost". He also added that Zelensky is ready to make peace and wants to end the war as soon as possible.
Trump will assume the office of President of the USA on 20 January 2025. He has repeatedly promised a quick end to the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Scenario of a quick end to the war
Trump's advisors propose at least three variants of ending the war. One of them is from the future special representative for Ukraine, Kit Kellog. It involves encouraging Ukraine and Russia to resume negotiations, using US aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine as leverage. It assumes "freezing" military actions on the front line in the initial stages of negotiations and refraining from inviting Ukraine to NATO for 10 years.
Another plan was developed by JD Vance. Its details are unknown, but he publicly proposed creating a demilitarised zone on the front line between Russia and Ukraine and guaranteeing the latter's neutral status. The author of another initiative is Richard Grenell, who was considered a candidate for Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine. He proposed creating certain "autonomous zones" within a peace agreement and opposed inviting Kyiv to NATO.
