Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was open to a ceasefire agreement with Russia, even without the immediate return of the occupied territories, provided that Ukraine receives NATO protection. “If we want to end the hot phase of the war, we must put the Ukrainian territory that we currently control under the NATO umbrella,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Sky News. He specified that “the invitation must be addressed to Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. You cannot invite only part of a country.”
The Ukrainian leader stressed the need to act urgently to ensure the security of the free areas of the country. As for the occupied territories, Zelenskyy expressed confidence in the possibility of regaining them through diplomatic means. “Ukraine can bring them back diplomatically,” he said, outlining a strategy that aims to avoid further military escalations.
The Kyiv leader’s proposal comes at a turning point in the war. A few days ago, the US agreed to permit the use of long-range missiles supplied by them on Russian territory, not just in Ukraine. In response, Russia began using long-range ballistic missiles on the Ukrainian territory, a first since Russia invaded its neighbor nearly three years ago. Zelenskyy’s concession came in the last days of Joe Biden’s presidency, who has a more generous perspective on aid to Kyiv than Donald Trump.
Trump has made no secret of wanting to push for a rapid end to the conflict, even if this were to be at the expense of Ukraine, which in the his second term would receive less aid than it has under Biden so far. One of the president-elect’s closest advisors, Silicon Valley financier Elon Musk, has been playing an outsize role in the conflict thus far. Musk sabotaged a major Ukrainian attack on Russian naval assets by cutting their satellite communications at a critical moment, which he provides through portable Starlink satellite terminals. The Wall Street Journal revealed last month that he is also in direct contact with Vladimir Putin, who reportedly asked him at one point not to activate Starlink over Taiwan, as a favor to China. Through a spokesperson, the Kremlin has denied the Journal’s report as “absolutely false information.”
