A potential peace agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is “90 percent ready,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his New Year’s address to the nation late Wednesday night.
“Ten percent remains … Those 10 percent contain, in fact, everything,” he said in a 20-minute speech focused on the war, which in 2026 is entering its fifth year. “Those are the 10 percent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live.”
He explained that while Ukraine’s position had been heard internationally, it had not yet been fully accepted. “Have our arguments been heard? We very much hope so. Have they agreed with us? Not fully. Not yet. That is precisely why, for now, we speak of 90 percent, not the full 100 percent, readiness of a peace agreement,” he said.
Zelenskyy stressed that he would only sign a “strong agreement,” because a weak agreement would “only fuel war.” He said: “What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want the end of the war — not the end of Ukraine.”
The president thanked nearly all European countries for their support, listing them individually, but did not mention Hungary. Referring to Budapest’s stance on Russia’s invasion, he said: “A Budapest-style piece of paper will not satisfy Ukraine.”
On U.S. President Donald Trump, he said: “The U.S. president always mentions our people and talks about how bravely Ukrainians are fighting.”
Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukrainians were “tired,” but said they were “not ready to surrender.” He noted that Russia’s invasion has now lasted longer than the Nazi occupation of Ukraine during World War II.
He also warned that Putin’s claim that Kyiv’s withdrawal from Donbas would end the war cannot be believed. “That is how deception sounds when translated from Russian … Does anyone still believe them? Unfortunately. Because too often, the truth is still avoided and called diplomacy, though in reality it is simply lies in suits.”
The Ukrainian president once again stressed his position on ending the conflict: “Either the world stops Russia’s war, or Russia drags the world into its war.”
A next meeting between Zelenskyy and international leaders is scheduled for January 6 in France, as officials announced earlier this week.
Curated by Sofia Andersson
