President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an interview to the British broadcaster ITV News, in which he spoke about the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2025, Trump, and the elections in Ukraine.
Babel publishes the main theses of the conversation.
Kursk operation
Ukraine captured over a thousand Russian soldiers, which made it possible to unblock the exchanges. About 700 Russians captured in the Kursk sector were exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Currently, 60 000 Russian military personnel are fighting in Kursk, as well as 7-8,000 North Korean soldiers. The latter have already lost 4 000 of their compatriots.
According to Zelensky, thanks to the Kursk operation, Moscow transferred combat units from the south, and therefore it was unable to launch an offensive on Zaporizhzhia, which it had planned to do. The occupiers were also transferred from the eastern regions of Ukraine.
End of the war in 2025
According to Zelensky, there is every possibility of ending the war this year. This is also the desire of the US President Donald Trump. To achieve this, it is necessary to act decisively, in particular, to introduce "total sanctions" against Russia so that it does not have time to adapt to them and cannot find loopholes. To end the war, Ukraine needs strong security guarantees — such that 8 million Ukrainians abroad return home.
"We really need to understand how this war will end. We need to understand that we are on the same side with America, with Europe. We cannot lose Europe. This is Putin, and this is a risk for all of Europe. I think we need to unite around this risk for our population, our states," Zelensky said.
The war must be ended in a way that prevents Putin or his successors from returning with aggression again.
Negotiations
The President of Ukraine is ready for almost any format of negotiations with the Russian Federation, if there is confidence that the US and the EU will not abandon Ukraine — they will provide support and security guarantees.
Elections during war
Zelensky says that Russia needs "its own man" as president of Ukraine to govern the country institutionally, make it dependent, drain resources, and hinder development.
"Our population is against elections during the war. All people are against it. Because everyone understands what will happen. How will everyone vote? How will the military vote? What to do with the millions of people who are abroad? How to vote without them? And what to do with the millions who are in the occupied territories? What do the ʼRussiansʼ want? Thatʼs exactly it. Complete destabilization in Ukraine," he stressed.
He added that he is not afraid of elections, but this will require the end or termination of martial law. If this is done, Ukraine will lose its army, and Russia will take advantage of this.
- The other day, on February 1, the US President Donald Trumpʼs special representative for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said that Washington expects Ukraine to hold presidential and parliamentary elections — potentially by the end of 2025, especially if a ceasefire with Russia can be agreed upon in the coming months. Keith Kellogg argued that "most democracies hold elections during wartime", and he considers this a sign of a strong democracy.
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