Zelenskyy: Ukraine needs an end to the war, not a pause
Ukraine needs the completion of the war, not a pause in hostilities, Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized in an interview with the Financial Times, stressing that handing over Donbas to Russia will not stop the war.
"To be honest, I do not believe that this is all Russia seeks. Our retreat from Donbas, and then the war ends. Russia is Russia, and you know, it cannot be trusted," the President says.
Zelenskyy reported that Moscow mobilizes 40,000 troops per month and suffers losses of about 35,000 people, noting that Russia needs a pause no less than Ukraine: "They need a pause no less than we do. Ukraine needs a ceasefire—yesterday, today, tomorrow… The war can start again. A ceasefire can collapse. We do not need a pause. We need an end to the war," the interview states.
The President emphasized that according to Ukrainian intelligence estimates, Russia's slow advance on the front in 2025 cost an average of 167 people per kilometer of occupied territory; at the same time, where Russia claims to hold positions, there is no real control. Simultaneously, Ukrainian troops have advanced on the south-eastern front, partly due to the ban on the unauthorized use of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite system by Russia forces.
"You immediately see what they occupy and what they don't. Where they claim to hold positions, you see that they hold nothing… On the contrary, we have advanced," Zelenskyy said.
