In a recent closed-door parliamentary session with lawmakers from his Servant of the People party, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hazarded Russia’s current heave in the country’s east may well be its final big land offensive in the conflict, according to those in attendance. Of course, the country will still have to endure another harsh winter, but Zelenskyy told them he expects there will be a real possibility of a truce — although, he noted, it won’t be easy.
For that to happen, Russia needs to be hit with more economic and military pressure, so Putin understands the only logical outcome is to negotiate, and that prolonging the conflict will lead to no other advantages for him and will just bleed Russia. Thankfully, fresh off successfully brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump seems determined to bring the war in Ukraine to a halt and add another notch in his belt to brandish at the Nobel Peace Prize judges.
This is what a high-level Ukrainian delegation, including Zelenskyy’s powerful Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, has been discussing with U.S. counterparts in Washington this week: How to leverage Putin into stopping his war, and how to help Ukraine endure Russia’s airstrikes this winter.
And with Zelenskyy set to be in the White House on Friday for yet another face-to-face meeting with Trump, this time, they feel the tide might be turning in their favor.
In his hour-long address in the Knesset on Monday, the U.S. president made clear his intention is to focus his efforts on ending the war between Ukraine and Russia: “It would be great if we could make a peace deal with [Iran] … First, we have to get Russia done,” he told Israeli lawmakers. For the man who once blamed Zelenskyy for the conflict, it seems this is now Putin’s war. Last month, Trump actually dubbed Russia the “aggressor.”
It is this kind of talk that’s firing up Kyiv, and Zelenskyy didn’t miss a beat in responding: “We are working so that the day of peace comes for Ukraine as well. Russian aggression remains the last global source of destabilization, and if a ceasefire and peace have been achieved for the Middle East, the leadership and determination of global actors can certainly work for us, too,” he posted on social media.