‘Major compromise’: How Ukraine’s Zelenskyy shifted goals to end Russia war

For the first time, Zelenskyy has said the war could be ended without getting back all of Ukrainian territory from Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that he seeks an early end to the war with Russia, adding Ukraine could retake occupied land later through diplomacy if Kyiv’s NATO membership is certain.

This marks a shift from his earlier stance, where he said the end of the war was contingent on Russia returning seized Ukrainian territory.

So why has Zelenskyy shifted his stance, and what’s next?

In an interview with Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay, published on November 29, Zelenskyy said the “hot phase” of the war could end if NATO offered security guarantees for the part of Ukraine currently under Kyiv’s control.

He said the return of land occupied by Russia at the moment could be diplomatically negotiated later. The Ukrainian leader reiterated this stance in an interview published by the Japanese news agency Kyodo News on Monday.