WASHINGTON (TNND) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he hoped Russia’s long and grueling war on his country could come to an end before winter and that President Donald Trump could help facilitate it.
Zelenskyy’s renewed push for peace before winter comes after the Trump administration has recently tried to restart long-stalled negotiations and tried to secure a limited cease-fire as a potential first step toward broader talks. But Moscow has offered little indication it is ready to back down from its demands that Ukraine has repeatedly said are unacceptable.
During a speech at the United Nations, Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin is the only obstacle to ending a ridiculous and never-ending war” but that the U.S. president could help find a path to a deal that has eluded them for years.
“I hope we will end this war, and President Trump will help us end this war,” Zelenskyy said during a meeting at the UN with Trump. “I think we need to do this as quick as possible — before winter.”
The United States has recently tried to restart peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, with special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveling to both capitals to meet with the countries’ leaders to get stalled peace talks restarted. There were no major breakthroughs from either meeting but that the Kremlin had offered “new ideas,” though U.S. officials have not specified what those entailed.
Trump has recently blamed the war for skyrocketing diesel prices that have repeatedly hit record highs in recent weeks in the U.S. Earlier this week, he said Russia had “lost control” of its oil industry and called for an end of the conflict.
“He’ll meet. He’s willing to meet. He wants to see the war end,” Trump said of Putin.
Putin has refused to meet with Zelenskyy since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the Kremlin has frequently claimed the Ukrainian government is illegitimate and has committed war crimes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Russia and Ukraine both expressed interested on a limited ceasefire stopping attacks on grain shipments and energy sectors. A limited agreement would come far short of the full peace deal Zelenskyy is seeking but may test whether the renewed diplomatic efforts can yield any progress.
Attacks on grain shipments have hurt both sides economically, while Ukraine has weathered attacks on its energy infrastructure throughout the conflict. Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russia’s refinement sites, a significant piece of income for Russia to finance the war.
“All three of the players in this — Trump, Zelensky, and Putin — have an interest in stopping these attacks,” said Ian Kelly, a former State Department diplomat and ambassador in residence at Northwestern.
But whether those desires will be enough to bring even a partial stop to the fighting is another matter.
Zelenskyy’s timeline of getting a deal in place before winter is ambitious with Russia showing little appetite for negotiations and refusing to back down from its maximalist demands to bring an end to the deadliest ground war in Europe since World War II.
Winter’s approach is raising the stakes for both sides. Russia has repeteadly targeted Ukraine’s power grid and other infrastructure throughout the conflict, while Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on refineries and other energy facilities deep inside Russia in recent weeks. There has also been a pronounced escalate in air and drone strikes from both sides as they try to gain an advantage over eventual peace discussions.
Russian officials have not publicly acknowledged the potential deal on grain shipments, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow will not “pause” fighting, arguing Europe would use the time to “pump” Ukraine with weapons. The Kremlin has claimed throughout the war that the U.S. and Europe’s military aid for Ukraine pose a risk to its national security.
Lavrov also described the Ukrainian government as terrorists and claimed its invasion, which Moscow still calls a “special military operation,” is necessary to ensure Russia’s security.
The Kremlin has repeatedly batted down cease-fire proposals despite repeated negotiations with the Trump administration over the last two years and has yet to back down from hardline stances on what it would take to end the war. Russia’s list of demands has included Ukraine giving up most of its Donbas region, including areas Russian troops don’t control, securing guarantees Ukraine never joins NATO and having Kyiv agree to limits on the size of its military.
Ceding territory has been a hard red line for Ukraine and its allies in Europe over concerns it could be used as a footing for Russia to invade Ukraine again in the future.
“(Russia) has said, “Look, we’ve said we’ve said what our goals are, and until you accept them, we don’t we don’t want to negotiate for a ceasefire,’” Kelly said. “Putin still thinks he can attain what he wants by military means and it’s just a matter of time.”