Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, announced on Friday that he was creating a “comprehensive plan” outlining Kyiv’s vision for the conclusion of the conflict with Russia.
The terms of a future peace deal appear to be as different as ever between Russia and Ukraine, according to public statements made by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky. There are no active public negotiations between the two countries.
To garner support for Ukraine’s stance, Zelensky organised a significant international summit in Switzerland earlier this month, to which Russia was not invited.
On Friday, Zelensky said, “It is crucial for us to present a strategy to end the war that will have support from the majority of the world.”
He stated, “This is the diplomatic route we are working on,” alongside President Natasa Pirc Musar of Slovenia, at a press conference in Kyiv.
Leaders and high-ranking officials from over 90 nations travelled to Switzerland for the two-day summit with Zelensky.
Most of them signed a final communiqué emphasising the necessity of respecting Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” in any settlement.
However, several important attendees—like India—did not agree, while others—like China, an ally of Russia—boycotted the summit in protest at Moscow’s exclusion.
Peace talks cannot begin until Russia removes its forces from its internationally acknowledged territory, which includes the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014. Ukraine has made this demand repeatedly.
Putin, who began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is meanwhile pressing Ukraine to essentially submit by fleeing even more of its east and south.
Zelensky declared in Brussels on Thursday that he will present a “detailed plan” within a few months.
He pointed to the huge number of military and civilian casualties and added, “We don’t have too much time.”
Russia’s forces are supposedly in control of yet another minor front-line village on Friday as they gradually make their way forward in combat.
As of 2022, they claimed to have conquered four more regions, none of which they entirely controlled, and they currently hold about 5% of Ukraine.
Ukraine needs military and financial support from the West to drive back Russian forces that have been occupying the country for more than two years, but its forces are outnumbered, outgunned, and worn out.
