Zelenskyy rejects territorial concessions, says Putin “has already started” WW3

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyy has rejected any ceasefire deal that would require Ukraine to withdraw from strategic territory, warning that such a move would weaken the country and embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking in an interview with BBC at the government headquarters in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said he was firmly opposed to paying what he described as the price Moscow is demanding for a halt in fighting — namely, Ukrainian withdrawal from ground that Russian forces have failed to capture despite heavy losses.

Putin, Zelenskyy said, has already triggered a global conflict in all but name.

“I believe that Putin has already started it [World War 3 - ed.]. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him... Russia wants to impose on the world a different way of life and change the lives people have chosen for themselves," Zelenskyy said. 

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine hand over the roughly 20% of the eastern Donetsk region still under Kyiv’s control — a defensive belt of towns Ukrainian officials refer to as “fortress cities” — as well as additional territory in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Asked whether conceding such land might be a reasonable price for peace, Zelenskyy rejected the premise.

“I see this differently. I don't look at it simply as land. I see it as abandonment - weakening our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our people who live there. That is how I see it. And I am sure that this 'withdrawal' would divide our society.”

He argued that even if territorial concessions temporarily satisfied the Kremlin, they would only provide Moscow with time to regroup.

“It would probably satisfy him for a while... he needs a pause... but once he recovers, our European partners say it could take three to five years. In my opinion, he could recover in no more than a couple of years. Where would he go next? We do not know, but that he would want to continue [the war] is a fact.”

Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Ukraine can win the war. In the interview, he defined victory not only as restoring normal life and ending the bloodshed, but as halting what he described as a broader global threat emanating from the Kremlin.

“I believe that stopping Putin today and preventing him from occupying Ukraine is a victory for the whole world. Because Putin will not stop at Ukraine.”

Pressed on whether victory necessarily meant regaining all occupied territory, Zelenskyy insisted that restoring Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders remained the ultimate objective, though not at any cost.

“We'll do it. That is absolutely clear. It is only a matter of time. To do it today would mean losing a huge number of people - millions of people - because the [Russian] army is large, and we understand the cost of such steps. You would not have enough people, you would be losing them. And what is land without people? Honestly, nothing.”

He acknowledged that Ukraine currently lacks sufficient weapons to mount such an effort, noting that its capabilities depend heavily on international partners.

"So as of now that's not possible but returning to the just borders of 1991 [the year Ukraine declared its independence, precipitating the final collapse of the Soviet Union] without a doubt, is not only a victory, it's justice. Ukraine's victory is the preservation of our independence, and a victory of justice for the whole world is the return of all our lands.”

Among Kyiv’s latest requests to Washington is permission to manufacture American weapons under licence, including Patriot air defence missiles. Zelenskyy described air defence as Ukraine’s most pressing challenge and said partners have so far declined to grant licences for domestic production of such systems.

Turning to relations with the United States, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was seeking long-term security guarantees that would outlast individual political leaders. Asked whether he could trust US President Donald Trump to uphold such commitments, he stressed that Kyiv’s focus was on institutional guarantees from Washington rather than personal assurances.

“It is not only President Trump, we're talking about America. We are all presidents for the appropriate terms. We want guarantees for 30 years for example. Political elites will change, leaders will change.”

Zelenskyy added that firm security guarantees would need to be in place before he could consider another US demand — that Ukraine hold a general election by the summer — a call that echoes Russian claims that he is an illegitimate president. He noted that no similar demand has been made of Russia, where Putin first came to power at the end of 1999.

By Sabina Mammadli