VOLODYMYR Zelensky has revealed he’s prepared to sign a peace deal even if Russia doesn’t immediately return the land it occupies.
The valiant Ukrainian president says that his country must join the Nato defence alliance if it were to accept a peace agreement.
Zelensky told Sky News he would accept peace for Nato membership
GettyVladimir Putin controls parts of southeastern Ukraine following his 2022 invasion[/caption]
He told Sky News: “If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control.
“We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”
Zelensky said it was key that Nato should “immediately” cover all of the land Kyiv controls, so Vladimir Putin does not use the peace to prepare for another invasion.
But Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin has previously ruled out his country agreeing to letting Ukraine join Nato.
He wants Ukraine to be neutral and even said in June that Ukraine needed to drop its Nato bid for peace talks to begin.
Zelensky said that Ukraine would then try and return any land ceded in a “diplomatic way”.
It was not clear what that exactly meant or how Ukraine would get Russia to return the land.
Putin is expected to demand all the land he currently holds, including the regions of Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and parts of Kharkiv.
The leader also said he wanted to work with president-elect Trump directly as the Republican has pledged to achieve peace.
Zelenksy said: “I want to work with him directly because there are different voices from people around him. And that’s why we need not to [allow] anybody around to destroy our communication.”
Trump has not made clear how he plans to achieve peace, but analysts believe it will likely mean Ukraine cedes territory to Russia.
The bombshell from Zelenksy marks the first time he has said Ukraine could cede land to Russia, with the Ukrainian previously adamant he would even recapture Crimea.
But, with the election of Trump and with Russia seizing two football fields-worth of land a minute in the east, Ukraine is under pressure.
Earlier this year, Zelensky presented a peace plan to the Ukrainian parliament and Western allies.
He released a five-step “victory plan” that included Ukraine joining Nato and increased military support from the alliance.
GettyZelensky says he would accept peace for Nato membership[/caption]
GettyThousands of Ukrainians have been killed as they have defended their country against Russia[/caption]
EPARussia is attacking Ukraine with its massive army that includes tanks[/caption]