Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country will not surrender strategic territory to Russia as part of a possible ceasefire agreement.
In a BBC interview, he argued that Vladimir Putin had already started a third world war and that the response must be sustained military and economic pressure on Moscow.
Zelensky rejected handing over 20% of the Donetsk region, along with further territory in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
“I do not see it simply as land. I see it as abandonment — weakening our positions and abandoning hundreds of thousands of people living there. And I am certain this withdrawal would divide our society,” he said.
Even if a concession temporarily satisfied Putin, he argued, Russia would use a ceasefire as a pause to rebuild its forces.
“Our European partners say that could take three to five years. In my view, he could recover within two,” he said, asking where Russia would go next.
Victory means stopping Putin
Zelensky said victory involved more than restoring normal life for Ukrainians: it also meant preventing a wider threat.
“Stopping Putin today and preventing him from taking Ukraine is a victory for the whole world. Putin will not stop at Ukraine,” he said.
Restoring the full 1991 borders remained the objective, but he acknowledged that an immediate attempt to retake all occupied territory would carry an enormous human cost.
“What is land without people? Nothing,” he said.
Trump and lasting security guarantees
Asked about Trump's calls for rapid ceasefire negotiations and greater pressure on Kyiv than Moscow, Zelensky said security guarantees needed to be established through the US Congress.
That would allow them to last beyond one presidential term.
“Presidents change, but institutions remain,” he said.
Clear security guarantees must also come before consideration of elections, an issue Washington has raised.
Elections during war
Elections had been scheduled for 2024 but did not take place because of martial law imposed after Russia's invasion.
Zelensky said elections could technically be held with appropriate legislation, but stressed the practical difficulties.
Millions of Ukrainians are abroad and substantial parts of the country remain under Russian occupation.
“If that is a condition for ending the war, let us do it. But they must be held in a way that makes them recognised as legitimate, above all by the Ukrainian people,” he said.
Air defence and Patriot production
He repeated calls for stronger air defences, describing the issue as the most difficult problem.
He sought licences allowing Ukraine to manufacture US weapons, including Patriot missiles.
“Unfortunately, our partners do not give us licences to produce systems ourselves, such as Patriots, or even missiles for systems we already have. So far, we have made no progress,” he said.
Diplomatic and military efforts in parallel
Zelensky said the war would not end immediately, but diplomatic and military strategies were moving in parallel.
“For us, success means stopping Putin,” he said.
Although the Russian President did not want to end the war, he added, that did not mean he could not be forced to do so.
