Zelenskyy calls peace a priority, but rejects territorial concessions in Donbas
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that peace remains Ukraine's main goal, but to achieve it the country must maintain strength and internal unity. That is why Kyiv is not ready to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbas as a condition for an agreement with Russia.
Zelenskyy said this in an interview with CBS News.
The journalist asked the president whether his position on a possible withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas had changed. Zelenskyy answered negatively.
"The most important thing is peace. To achieve peace, you need to be strong", the president said.
Earlier, in an interview with CBC News, Zelenskyy also said that because of the scale of human losses in the war, there is no longer a "win-win" scenario in which both sides could consider themselves winners.
"The most important victory for everyone - not only for Ukraine and Russia. For the world - is peace. To stop this war. And that will be a victory for human lives", Zelenskyy said then.
At the same time, in the conversation with CBS News, the president stressed that the desire for peace does not mean Ukraine is ready to give up its defensive positions. According to him, Ukraine's strength depends not only on military capabilities but also on preserving unity within the country and between Ukraine, Europe, and the United States.
Zelenskyy noted that withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Donbas could undermine internal unity because the military is against such a scenario. In addition, Kyiv has no guarantees that after receiving the territories, Russia would stop its offensive.
"No one can guarantee that if you pull back, he will not continue", Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The president called the fortified areas of Donbas some of Ukraine's strongest defensive lines. In his opinion, handing them over to Russia without sufficient guarantees would effectively give the Russian army the opportunity to continue advancing.
"This is not a question of trust. This is a question of our survival. These are the strongest defensive lines in Ukraine. We cannot give them to him as a gift, because that would be a free ticket for him to continue the occupation", Zelenskyy explained.
At the same time, the president said that Russia has repeatedly postponed its own deadlines for capturing all of Donbas. According to him, the latest Russian assessment known to Kyiv foresees completing this task in 2027.
This assessment echoes previously released Ukrainian data indicating that Russian political and military leadership has changed the deadlines for reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk Oblast several times.
Separately, Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine's readiness for a mutual cessation of strikes on energy infrastructure. He stressed that for Ukraine, energy is primarily electricity and gas for the population, while for Russia, oil and gas infrastructure and export revenues play a significant role.
According to the president, Kyiv is ready for an energy truce on condition that Russia completely halts attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities regardless of the means of destruction it uses.
"If the Russians are ready for an energy truce - that means no attacks on energy facilities by any means", Zelenskyy said. He added that implementing such an agreement could demonstrate the political will to end the war.
At the same time, Zelenskyy believes Moscow is trying to take advantage of the shifting of US attention and military resources to the Middle East. According to him, Ukraine is seeing a decrease in available assets for Patriot systems, F-16s, and NASAMS, while some of the corresponding resources are needed by the Americans and their partners in the region.
The president said Putin is using this situation to increase pressure on Ukraine. That is why, according to him, peace negotiations must rely not only on agreements and trust but also on Ukraine's ability to defend itself.
