Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested giving up territory occupied by Russia in order the end the ‘hot stage’ of the war.
This wouldn’t mean ending Ukraine’s claim to land within its internationally recognised borders, instead opting to recover it through diplomatic rather than military means.
But Zelenskyy wants something key allies have so far refused to consider – NATO membership, before there is peace with Russia.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: ‘If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control.
‘That’s what we need to do fast, and then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically.
‘This proposal has never been considered by Ukraine because no one has ever offered that to us officially.’
Ukraine has developed its own drone industry, producing unmanned aerial vehicles capable of destroying Russian tanks and naval vessels, terrorising their troops, and targeting weapons factories over the border.
Now the UK and the US have given Ukraine permission to use missiles they supply to hit military targets within Russia itself.
But this shift in policy by Ukraine’s main allies is, in many ways, too little too late.
A year ago, Russia had already dug down behind lines of trenches and mine fields to protect captured territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.
It made any attempts by Ukraine to break through incredibly costly in terms of manpower, and, ultimately, fruitless.
Now Russia is on the offensive, ramping up weapons production, drafting in thousands of North Korean troops for support, and making advances across the frontline.
Ukraine has struggled to mobilise enough new fighters to replace those injured and killed and defend against the assault, let alone gain ground.
Russian drone and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure – particularly power plants – has left millions of Ukrainians without heat, bleeding their morale.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described Russia’s ‘systemic attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector’ as ‘depraved’.
With Donald Trump set to return as US President in January, when he is expected to slash military funding and push for a deal, time is running out.
Last month, Zelenskyy revealed a plan for victory – a victory he believes can be achieved next year.
This included a formal invitation to join NATO, the now-granted lifting of a ban on using Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike Russia, a refusal to trade territories, and the continuation of Ukraine’s retaliatory invasion of Russia’s Kursk region.
Russia – with the backing of North Korea – is pushing Ukraine back in Kursk, almost four months after Ukraine launched its incursion.
But territory captured by Ukraine here could strengthen its negotiating position.
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A ceasefire could halt Russia’s advance, but it would need to ‘guarantee that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will not come back’, Zelenskyy said.
Immediate NATO protection of Ukrainian-held territory is needed ‘very much otherwise [Russian President Vladimir Putin] will come back’, he said.
President-elect Trump is reported to prefer that Ukraine surrender Russian-occupied territory in order to end the war and secure NATO membership.
But Zelenskyy said membership should be given ‘within its internationally recognised border, you can’t give invitation to just one part of a country’.
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