Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has doubled down on his rejection of an immediate ceasefire in the war with Russia.
Speaking to the Financial Times after a weekend hobnobbing with European elites in London, Zelensky made it clear he’s willing to let Ukraine burn rather than negotiate a practical peace.
Zelensky’s latest outburst comes on the heels of a fiery confrontation with President Donald Trump at the White House last Friday, where the Ukrainian leader clashed with America’s commander-in-chief over Kyiv’s refusal to consider a ceasefire.
Trump, alongside his cabinets, has rightly argued that Ukraine should prioritize ending the bloodshed rather than clinging to fantasies of total victory over a military superpower.
“You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War Three. You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, far more than a lot of people say they should,” Trump told Zelensky.
More from FT:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected calls for Ukraine to agree an immediate ceasefire in its war with Russia, saying it would be “failure for everyone” if a cessation of hostilities were not accompanied by detailed security guarantees.
The defiant Ukrainian president said he saw no need to make amends for an explosive row with Donald Trump at the White House on Friday or come up with a plan to salvage his relationship with the US president, although he restated his gratitude to the American people.
“This relationship will continue because this is more than a relationship in one moment,” Zelenskyy, who was speaking after meeting more than a dozen European leaders at a summit in London on Sunday, said in reference to the bust-up that shocked Kyiv’s allies.
Trump and his allies have said Kyiv should be willing to agree a ceasefire, a point echoed by Lord Peter Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, on Sunday.
Zelenskyy said Russia’s failure to abide by a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine after invading in 2014 convinced him that it would be a mistake to agree to stop fighting without an enforcement mechanism backed up by military force.
“If you don’t have an end to the war and you don’t have security guarantees, no one is able to control a ceasefire,” Zelenskyy said from London’s Stansted airport as he prepared to fly back to Ukraine.
Let’s be clear: Zelensky’s stance isn’t noble—it’s delusional. He points to Russia’s violation of a 2014 ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as proof that no truce can hold without “enforcement mechanisms” backed by military might.
Fair enough—Vladimir Putin’s track record isn’t exactly spotless. But continuing a fight against a nation with one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals—that’s not a strategy; it’s a suicide pact.
Zelensky criticized the notion of a ceasefire without robust security guarantees.
Zelenskyy’s pursuit of security guarantees encompasses binding military commitments and integration into Western defense structures like NATO.
President Donald Trump has already told Zelensky that providing security guarantees to Ukraine would be Europe’s responsibility.
“I know that France is going to (provide guarantees), I know the U.K. is going to… But we would have security in a different form. We would have workers there… digging,” Trump said on Friday.
“I am in the middle; I am for both Ukraine and Russia. I want to get it (Russia’s war against Ukraine) solved,” Trump added.
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