Zelensky says Ukraine ready to freeze war on front line

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is prepared to freeze the war with Russia along the current front line and move to diplomacy, calling it "a real way to end this war." He made the remarks in a Fox News ↗ 3.74% interview broadcast Wednesday, Interfax-Ukraine reported. He said a ceasefire is the minimum Russia should be expected to accept. After that, he said, Kyiv would ask President Donald Trump and European partners for security guarantees.aa.com.tr

The interview aired as US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, one day after holding talks with Zelensky in Oslo. That timing puts Kyiv's position in front of Washington and Moscow while the latest round of peace diplomacy is still underway.

What Zelensky said

The interviewer asked whether Ukraine would accept a peace deal that froze the situation as it stands, with Kyiv keeping control of 75% or more of its territory, UA.News reported. "Yes. Right now we have to freeze," Zelensky answered, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. He said the most important thing is peace, "and peace backed by security," Interfax-Ukraine reported.aa.com.tr+2

He was also asked whether Ukraine would give up the Donbas region to end the war. He rejected that idea and argued that Russia is not winning on the battlefield. "In 2026, they didn't have success," he said, according to Anadolu. Zelensky acknowledged that Ukrainians are tired of the war but said the country cannot simply abandon its land. He suggested that early steps to reduce fighting could include ceasefires covering food security, shipping and energy infrastructure. A freeze along current positions would not mean legally recognizing occupied territory as Russian, UA.News noted.ua.news+1

Oslo talks and Putin meeting

On Tuesday, Zelensky met Witkoff in Oslo, alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Jared Kushner joined remotely, Euronews reported. A US official told CNN that the two sides made "meaningful progress." The talks covered long-term security guarantees for Ukraine and a post-war economic plan. Zelensky said the Oslo discussions touched on NATO's Article 5 and "different kinds of security guarantees," which Witkoff would share with the Russians, CNBC reported.cnbc.com+2

In St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Witkoff told Putin he hoped the meeting could be "another step forward in the peace process," and he announced that Russia would release detained American Stephen Hubbard, CNN reported.cnn.com

Strained ties and Russian caution

The diplomacy comes while relations between Kyiv and Washington are strained. Ukraine has complained about delayed Patriot missile deliveries and limits on intelligence sharing, Reuters reported. Zelensky said this week that US early-warning intelligence "works now," the BBC reported.reuters.com+1

Moscow has sounded less hopeful. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would listen to Witkoff but ruled out "any political concessions," according to the BBC. "Much depends on whether the American side will hear something new from Russia today – about peace, rather than the continuation of the war," Zelensky said Wednesday, CNN reported.bbc.co.uk+1