Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would like to end the war with Russia next year through “diplomatic means” as both countries prepare for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
In an interview with the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne, Zelenskyy said he is certain that the war will end “sooner” than it otherwise would have once Mr. Trump becomes president.
The prospect of Trump returning to power in the United States next year has raised questions about the future of the conflict, as the Republican has been critical of U.S. military aid to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine “must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means.”
They absolutely can. Easily. They made a peace deal shortly after war started, but Zelensky accepted weapons bribe promises to keep going instead. As they are nearing the last Ukrainian, and the bribes will dry up, something close to original deal will happen instead. Zelensky is dead either way, but peace lets him flee somewhere, and claim to have done the right thing.
Zelensky’s dilemma is that his real powerbase are the militant ultranationalists who surround him, who make up a double edged sword for him. Even if the Ukrainian people would have wanted peace yesterday they are not armed or organized. Zelensky still needs the nationalists around him to stand between him and possible popular uprising and the more moderate wing of the army doing a coup. If Zelensky goes for peace he fears that the nationalists around him will see that as an betrayal of Ukraine, them and those who have sacrificed their lives for their project and will turn on him and arrange an “Russian missile strike” in his office that will kill him and end any negotiations. You must understand that despite being called nationalists, the banderites love their imaginary version of Ukraine more than the actual nation. Ukraine bending the knee to Russia would save the real Ukraine, but it would destroy their ideal version of it and doom and taint their idea of Ukrainian nationalism forever.
You are correct in assessment of Ukraine power dynamics. But there may be a realism hit taking place if US won’t fund the war. The banderites/Zelensky may wish to become South Korea. The “Musk ceasefire with EU peacekeepers” is South Korea with continued skirmishes, and not something Russia will fall for. “Listening to Russia’s concerns” is a peace plan. Given Ukraine’s path, mentioning peace may be Zelensky’s way to threaten a better offer from West.