Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country needs weapons to fight Russia’s invasion, not talk of concessions to the Kremlin, as Donald Trump’s victory cast uncertainty over future US support for Kyiv.
“Some of you present here were strongly advocating for Ukraine to make ‘concessions’,” Zelenskyy told the summit of European leaders in Budapest on Thursday. “It’s unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all of Europe.”
His remarks came as Russian forces have continued to advance in eastern Ukraine, seizing more land in recent weeks than at any point this year. As Kyiv’s shortages of weapons and manpower grow more acute, Ukraine’s supporters are starting to consider what a ceasefire might look like.
Zelenskyy said previously that he wanted US help to force Russia to negotiate on Ukrainian terms and avoid a frozen conflict that would give Moscow time to rearm and attack again.
Trump promised during the election campaign that he would quickly end the fighting with Russian, but has been ambiguous in his support for Kyiv and boasted of his good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian leader said he had a “good, productive conversation” with Trump on Wednesday. “Of course, we cannot yet know what his specific actions will be. But we do hope that America will become stronger,” he added.
US President Joe Biden has so far declined to provide what Kyiv says it needs to achieve a just peace. That plan includes an invitation to join NATO and permission to use western-made weapons to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
US thinking is unlikely to change in the months Biden has left in office, according to western diplomats. Most allies don’t want to risk getting dragged into war with Russia while a symbolic invitation would have limited bargaining power, they added, asking not to be identified.
The diplomats also said that even if Kyiv were given permission for long-range strikes inside Russia, it doesn’t have many missiles and there aren’t enough targets within its reach to substantively change the balance on the ground.
Kyiv on the other hand believes that move would curb Russia’s ability to continue hammering Ukraine’s infrastructure and cities.
Latest Attack
As Zelenskyy was speaking with European leaders on Thursday, Russian forces hit the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine with five glide bombs on Thursday, killing four and injuring at least 18 civilians, the regional government said on Telegram. The country was also targeted with a barrage of more than 100 explosive-laden drones overnight.
Critics have argued that Biden’s Ukraine strategy points to continued stalemate as it’s premised on cautious incrementalism and fear of escalation. Any peace talks in the near future would happen with Russia occupying parts of its neighbor and Putin unwilling to let that land go.
Biden had, however, bought Europe time to develop its own defense industry and capabilities, while still providing the continent with a comfort blanket of continued US military presence.
Despite the war soon entering its fourth year, European Union states are still haggling over how to pay for the level of defense ramp-up that would be needed in case Moscow were in a position to target NATO territory in a matter of years, as some assessments suggest.
Trump is unlikely to provide Europe with comfort or time. The incoming president has threatened to pull the plug on aid to Ukraine and wavered on whether he would come to the defense of European allies.
In the longer term, Ukraine’s best bet to guarantee its security is to develop its own defense industry and capabilities with allied help, and mobilize a stronger and younger army, some of the diplomats said.
Speaking in Budapest, Zelenskyy also took an indirect dig at the host of the meeting, Viktor Orban, who has cultivated ties with Putin and visited him in Moscow in July.
“Hugs with Putin won’t help,” Zelenskyy said. “Some of you have been hugging him for 20 years, and things are only getting worse.”
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