News

Zelensky hints he could agree a ceasefire deal to END war with Russia – even if Putin doesn’t return land that is currently under occupation

Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted he would agree a ceasefire deal to end the Ukraine war if Nato agrees to accept his country as a member.

In an interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president suggested he was prepared to end the ‘hot phase’ of the war in exchange for membership of the bloc.

He said if the Ukrainian territory he controls was taken ‘under the NATO umbrella’, he could return the rest, which is currently under Russian occupation, in a ‘diplomatic way’.

Zelensky has previously suggested that the war would not end until his country is returned to its internationally recognised borders.

‘If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,’ Zelensky said.

‘We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.’

The Ukrainian leader was answering questions on what president-elect Donald Trump’s desire to end the war would mean for his country.

It has been reported that one of the Republican’s plans to achieve this would involve Kyiv ceding the land taken by Russia in exchange for Ukraine’s Nato membership.

Mr Zelensky’s concessions follow a series of disappointments on the battlefield for Ukraine. Russia has taken six times as much Ukrainian territory in 2024 as it did last year.

And the pace of the Kremlin’s advances has forced Ukraine to send thousands of reservists to reinforce vulnerable areas in the east.

The Kremlin’s so-called ‘meat grinder’ tactics have resulted in Russia’s daily casualty figures breaking 2,000 for the first time, according to figures released on Friday.

Troops are ordered to charge at gunpoint towards Ukrainian defensive positions, leading to territorial gains but increasingly high losses through death, injury and fleeing from the frontline.

Zelensky’s comments also come after an alliance chief assured last month that Ukraine will become a Nato member in the future – but was unable to say when the country might join.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte reiterated on October 17 that the war-torn nation’s place is among NATO’s ranks.

‘Ukraine will be a member of NATO in the future,’ Rutte said. ‘The question is exactly about the ‘when’. I cannot answer that now.’

He said Vladimir Putin must understand that ‘we are in this, if necessary, for the long haul. And obviously we want to be in a place where Zelensky and Ukraine, from a position of strength, is able to start talks with Russia.’

Zelensky has previously insisted that a Nato membership invitation is central to his ‘victory plan’ to end the devastating with Russia.

Earlier this year, he presented this proposal to the Ukrainian parliament which included a refusal to cede territory to Russia as a precursor to coming to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, German defence giant Rheinmetall and Lithuania on Friday signed deals to begin construction of a $190-million ammunition plant to make artillery shells in the EU and NATO member, which has been nervously eying Russia.

Dubbed by Vilnius the largest defence investment in Lithuania’s history, the plant is seen as a new sign of Europe re-arming to counter security threats from Moscow.

Rheinmetall signed a land lease agreement and supply contract with the Lithuanian government for the procurement of 155mm ammunition.

‘This agreement provides maximum benefit to Lithuania, both in terms of defence and ammunition procurement,’ Lithuanian Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite told reporters in Vilnius.

Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest military equipment maker, said it would invest 180 million euros ($190 million) in the plant, which is due to begin operations in mid-2026.

Once completed, it ‘would be able to produce tens of thousands of 155mm calibre artillery shells per year,’ Rheinmetall said in a statement.

The factory will be located near Baisogala, a northern Lithuanian town close to a NATO air base.

President Zelensky and Trump spoke on the phone earlier this month soon after he was re-elected.

The pair reportedly had a constructive exchange during with Zelensky saying the Ukrainian war ‘will end sooner’ following his election.

Speaking on November 17, Zelensky claimed he would like to see the two-and-half year conflict come top end next year through ‘diplomatic means.’

During an interview with Ukrainian radio, he said: ‘For our part, we must do everything we can to ensure that this war ends next year. We have to end it by diplomatic means.

‘And this, I think, is very important.’

‘We have to understand what the Russians want,’ Zelensky said.

Referring to Ukraine, he said: ‘You are at war with a state that does not value its people, that has a lot of equipment, that does not care how many people die.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will only accept talks with Ukraine if Kyiv surrenders Ukrainian territory that Moscow occupies.

Meanwhile in the Russia-Ukraine war, sources have claimed that Moscow is recruiting  hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to reinforce its lines in Ukraine under the false promise of high salaried work and Russian citizenship.

Recruits say they have already been sent to the frontlines after being inducted into the Russian military with help from a Houthi-linked company.

Many of those heading to Russia claim to have been press-ganged into the military under the promise of a well-paid career away from the frontlines, recruits told the FT.

Yemenis expecting substantial salaries and safe employment in manufacturing roles say they arrived in Russia to be threatened and taken to Ukraine with little training.

Russia has, in recent weeks, looked to avoid full mobilisation by drawing on support from some 12,000 North Korean troops and mercenaries from India and Nepal.

The recruitment of Yemeni soldiers ‘appears to have begun as early as July’, the FT reports, months before Kim Jong Un sent his forces to buttress Putin’s lines.

One recruit estimated that he was part of one group of some 200 Yemenis conscripted to fight in Russia in September.

Some say they were tricked into joining after signing enlistment contracts they could not read, and were told they would be working in lucrative fields like engineering.

Related Posts

Asylum seeker 𝑠e𝑥 pest targeted two women on the train in ‘terrifying ordeal’ before 𝑠e𝑥ually assaulting one – but is SPARED jail after judge is told he ‘has no friends in the UK’

A 𝑠e𝑥 pest who 𝑠e𝑥ually assaulted a 20-year-old female passenger during a train journey has been spared jail. Hamada Salah, 28, who is seeking asylum in the UK, targeted two lone women in separate incidents on a TransPennine Express journey from Leeds to Middlesbrough in February. The victims were left feeling ‘objectified’ and ‘unnerved’ after the Egyptian national began showing them pornography, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

【衝撃】桜庭あつこが無理やり脱がされた衝撃の理由…羽賀研二に全てを捧げたのに梅宮アンナに略奪された彼女の悲惨な現在…芸能界から干された彼女の旦那の正体とは!?

桜庭敦子さんは元グラビアアイドルで、羽賀健二さんとの交際で有名になった。 1999年、桜庭敦子さんは羽賀健二さんとの熱愛スキャンダルで注目を集め、梅宮アンナさんとの三角関係が話題に。 桜庭敦子さんは1996年に芸能界デビューし、1999年に初めてヌードを披露した。 2012年に結婚を発表し、芸能界から引退。現在は福島県郡山市で生活し、子育てに専念している。 羽賀健二さんは詐欺罪で逮捕され、懲役6年の判決を受けた後、現在も不動産を所有しているとの情報がある。 梅宮アンナさんは羽賀健二さんとの交際中に8000万円の借金を肩代わりし、破局後もその返済を続けていた。

Gregg Wallace’s friends blame ‘inappropriate behaviour’ on autism condition: Scandal-hit MasterChef star’s pals believe he displays ‘classic symptoms’ because of his ‘inability to read the room’

Gregg Wallace’s alleged inappropriate behaviour which sparked his MasterChef exit has been blamed on his secret autism condition by friends of the scandal-hit BBC1 star. MailOnline can reveal Wallace, 60, has never been ‘formally diagnosed’, but his close pals believe he displays ‘all classic symptoms’ including an inability to judge social situations and having a ‘lighter filter on the subject of 𝑠e𝑥’. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, a close therapist friend of Wallace, who did not want to be named, claims the MasterChef judge has never been tested for autism due a feeling of responsibility he may have passed down the neurological and developmental disorder to his four-year son Sid, who is severely autistic and non-verbal.

Diddy’s son King Combs posts ‘pre Thanksgiving feast’ with crab legs after father was denied bail for third time

Diddy’s son King Combs shared a snap of his lavish pre-Thanksgiving celebrations after his rapper father was denied bail for a third time ahead of his 𝑠e𝑥 trafficking trial. The 55-year-old disgraced hip hop mogul had made another bid for freedom before Thanksgiving – but will now remain behind bars during the holidays at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn ahead of his May 2025 trial. Combs has been charged with racketeering, 𝑠e𝑥 trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution — all of which he denies.

猪口邦子参院議員の夫と娘の焼身映像を放送した”ミヤネ屋”が強制打切り…踊り狂う障害を持った娘の最期に涙腺崩壊…非道徳的すぎる鬼畜の報道の全貌…消火が遅れた理由や黒幕の正体がヤバい…

自民党の井口邦子参院議員の自宅で火災が発生し、夫と30代の長女の遺体が発見された。 火災は27日夜、東京都文教区の井口議員のマンションで発生し、井口議員は当時外出中だった。 番組「ミヤネ屋」が火災の映像を放送し、視聴者から「放送事故」との批判が相次いでいる。 火災現場には人影が映り込んでおり、その人物の正体や行動についての憶測が広がっている。 井口議員の夫は東大名誉教授の井口孝志氏で、家族は双子の娘を含む4人家族である。 井口議員の娘には障害があるとの噂が広まっているが、公式な情報は確認されていない。

中森明菜が木村拓哉に怒り爆発…収まらなかった大物タレントへの本音に驚きを隠せない【芸能】

中森明菜が香取慎吾とのコラボを発表、11月20日にシングル「タトゥー フィーチャリング 中森明菜」を先行配信。 木村拓哉が新アルバムのコラボを中森にオファーしたが、断られたとの報道。 中森明菜は過去の金銭トラブルを理由に、ジャニーズ事務所のメリー氏に対して恨みを抱いているとされる。 木村拓哉はジャニーズ事務所に残留し、メリー派として活動を続けている。 中森明菜は2010年に体調不良で無期限休止、その後2014年に活動再開も、メディア露出は減少。 香取慎吾と中森明菜のコラボはファンから注目を集め、話題性が高まっている。

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *