President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Monday that decisive actions by the United States could expedite the conclusion of the Russian war against Ukraine as early as next year.
Speaking to ABC News, Zelenskiy emphasized that Ukraine is “closer to the end of the war.”
In a post on his Telegram messaging app following a meeting with a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation, he highlighted the potential for strengthened cooperation between Ukraine and the U.S. as the year comes to a close. “Decisive action now could hasten the just end of Russian aggression against Ukraine next year,” he noted.
Zelenskiy is currently in the U.S. for the U.N. General Assembly and plans to travel to Washington later this week to present his “victory plan” and influence U.S. policy on the war, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election on November 5.
Amid his visit, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed without evidence that Zelenskiy favored a Democratic victory in November.
The presidential office in Kyiv did not immediately comment, but Zelenskiy has previously expressed his willingness to collaborate with any U.S. leader.
In the ABC News interview, Zelenskiy called on Washington and its allies to maintain their support for Ukraine. The U.S. and its partners have committed billions in assistance and imposed multiple sanctions on Russia. “I think that we are closer to peace than we realize,” he stated. “We are closer to the end of the war.”
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, referred to as a “special military operation” by Moscow, began in February 2022, resulting in thousands of deaths, the displacement of millions, and the destruction of towns and cities across Ukraine.
In an ABC News interview, President Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine can only compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop the war” from a “strong position.”
While details about his “victory plan” remain sparse, Zelenskiy described it as a “bridge” to a second Ukraine-led peace summit that Kyiv hopes to organize and invite Russia to later this year.
Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, revealed on Monday in New York that the plan includes expedited NATO membership for Ukraine, a demand that Moscow vehemently opposes.
Putin has indicated that peace talks can only commence if Ukraine relinquishes significant territories in the east and south to Russia and abandons its aspirations for NATO membership. In response, Zelenskiy has consistently called for the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s post-Soviet borders.
Currently, Russia occupies about 20% of Ukrainian territory and continues to advance in the east, capturing a series of settlements in its effort to control the entire Donbas region.
In a strategic move to reclaim the initiative, Ukrainian troops launched an attack into Russia’s western Kursk region on August 6, continuing to occupy several villages on Russian territory.
President Zelenskiy told ABC News that the Kursk operation revealed the vulnerability of Putin’s position, despite the Russian military’s ongoing advances in Donbas.
“He’s afraid very much,” Zelenskiy said. “Why? Because his people see he can’t defend all his territory.”
Ukraine and its Western allies argue that Russia is conducting an imperial-style war, while Putin frames the invasion of Ukraine as a defensive action against a hostile and aggressive West.
