Zelensky Says Ukraine Would Accept Freezing the War Along Current Front Lines

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukraine would accept a peace deal with Russia that freezes the war along its current front lines, calling the idea “a real way to end this war” in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

Host Brian Kilmeade asked Zelensky whether he would “accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75% or more of your country, regardless of how it started.” Zelensky answered directly: “Yes, right now, we have to freeze.”

“We call it a ceasefire,” he added. “President Trump called it freeze and stop.”

Zelensky described the freeze as the minimum Ukraine needs from Russia. After that, he said, Kyiv would turn to President Donald Trump and European leaders to ask for security guarantees. The most important part of any deal, he said, is making sure Russian aggression and occupation do not return.

He also spoke about the human cost behind the talks. About 9.5 million Ukrainians have lost their homes or are living abroad, he said, and they need to feel safe enough to return and rebuild the country.

Donbas is not on the table

Asked whether he would give up the Donbas region to make peace, Zelensky said that was “not fair.” Russia has occupied most of the Donbas, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, since September 2022, when it held referenda that Ukraine and Western governments called a sham, according to the New York Post.

Ukrainian and Western officials have warned that handing over the entire Donbas would open the door to another Russian invasion in the near future, the Post reported. Zelensky said Russian forces are “not winning on the battlefield” and are instead trying to use pressure to push Ukraine off its land.

Diplomacy picks up speed

The interview came during a busy week of diplomacy. Zelensky met U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday, and Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg on Wednesday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin agreed “in principle” to resume trilateral talks with the U.S. and Ukraine after Nov. 10, his foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said, according to the Associated Press.

Russia has often rejected ceasefire proposals, saying they would give Ukraine time to rearm. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week, “There will be no ceasefire to bring him back to his senses and pump him full of weapons,” according to the Interfax news agency.

Trump also scored a diplomatic win on Wednesday, securing the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher who had been jailed in Russia on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Trump said it was time for Ukraine to end the war or face “a very bad thing.”

Zelensky, writing on X on Wednesday, said “Russia strikes our country virtually every hour.” He wrote: “Of course, we are not losing this war. But we are losing people. Because of the Russian attacks, we’re losing people and time. It’s such a pity, because our children don’t have a real life and childhood… That’s why we need to end this war as quickly as possible.”

Reporting based on coverage by Fox News and the New York Post.