KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that if a diplomatic end to the war cannot be struck during the current peace talks, his country would continue to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“If Russia blocks all of this — and as I said, it depends on our partners — if our partners do not compel Russia to stop the war, there will be another path: to defend ourselves,” he said on January 3 ahead of another busy week of diplomacy.
The comments echo those the Ukrainian leader expressed in his New Year’s Eve address, when he stressed that a peace agreement with Russia can’t come “at any cost.”
“What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want an end to the war but not the end of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said in the televised address.
US President Donald Trump in November 2025 pressed Zelenskyy to accept a 28-point peace proposal that many saw as heavily favoring Russia.
Ukraine and its European allies — led by Britain, France, and Germany — scrambled to develop a counterproposal, eventually putting forward a 20-point plan that took in more of Kyiv’s interests, especially on security guarantees and territorial integrity.
Security Guarantees, Economic Recovery
Zelenskyy spoke as security advisers from 15 allies met in the Ukrainian capital, discussing fine points of the developing peace plan, including potential security guarantees for Ukraine.
Few details emerged from the session, but Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said participants “discussed security guarantees, points of the peace plan, economic recovery, and military-political issues.”
Umerov asserted that “most of the positions — 90 percent of the peace plan — have already been agreed, work continues on the details.”
Zelenskyy, in his December 31 speech, also said a deal was “90 percent complete,” but he warned that the remaining 10 percent would be difficult to finalize.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the meeting through a video link, while representatives from NATO and the European Union participated in person.
The meeting will be followed by at least two other important gatherings in the upcoming week.
On January 5, Ukraine will host a meeting of the chiefs of general staffs of European countries and others –“designed to ensure additional coordination of actions with allies in the security dimension,” Umerov said.
Macron Vows ‘Concrete’ Commitments
The following day in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron will host a gathering of European leaders. Macron said in his New Year’s Eve speech that European states and other allies will make “concrete” commitments to Ukraine’s security during the talks.
Zelenskyy expressed hopes for a summit of global leaders in the United States by the end of January to discuss peace proposals.
“We will be preparing for a meeting in the United States at the leadership level. We would like all of this to happen in January, by the end of January,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia is not participating directly in Ukraine’s talks with the United States or Europeans as Kyiv seeks solid guarantees that would accompany any potential peace deal.
“We are moving along three key tracks: security guarantees, reconstruction, and a basic framework for real peace,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
“We are preparing meetings in Europe that will take place next week. We are also preparing for meetings in the United States,” he added.
Trump ‘Not Thrilled’ With Russian Leader
Meanwhile, Trump on January 3 expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the continued war in Ukraine.
“I’m not thrilled with Putin. He’s killing too many people,” Trump told reporters at his resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump has often praised Putin and said he believes the Russian leader is interested in a peace deal.
Many observers say Zelenskyy is under heightened pressure on the backdrop of Russian gains on the battlefield, particularly in eastern Ukraine.
While those advancements have been limited and hard-fought since the first year of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a January 2 analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, found that Moscow’s battlefield gains in 2025 were the highest since 2022.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskiy said those gains resulted in almost 420,000 dead and wounded Russians in 2025, according to Ukrainian estimates. Both sides generally do not report casualty figures.
