Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says a draft peace agreement to end Russia’s full-scale invasion is “90% ready”, but warned that the unresolved elements will determine “the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe.”
In a New Year address dominated by resilience and resistance, Zelensky insisted Kyiv would not accept “peace at any cost.”
“We want the end of the war – not the end of Ukraine,” he said, stressing that any deal that required Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern Donbas region would be unacceptable. Moscow has repeatedly demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, which together make up the industrial Donbas heartland. Russia currently occupies most of both regions after nearly four years of fighting.
Zelensky said that “signatures under weak agreements only fuel war,” calling instead for binding, long-term security guarantees. Following talks in Florida earlier this week, he said the United States has offered security assurances for 15 years, but details and timelines remain unclear.
“Intentions must become security guarantees, and therefore be ratified,” he told Ukrainians, warning that either “the world stops Russia’s war, or Russia drags the world into its war.”
The speech came days after Zelensky met US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, as American and European officials work with Kyiv on a multi-point framework for ending the conflict and locking in Western support for Ukraine’s defence and reconstruction.
Kremlin claims drone attack on Putin’s residence
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin used his far shorter New Year address to praise Russian troops and project confidence.
“We believe in you and our victory,” he told soldiers fighting in what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian authorities released what they said was evidence that Ukraine had used drones to target Putin’s private residence on Lake Valdai in north-west Russia. The material included a map purportedly showing launch sites in Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions and a video of a downed drone in snowy woodland, which a serviceman in the footage identified as a Ukrainian-made Chaklun system. The BBC has not independently verified the video or the Russian claims.
The Kremlin said it would “review” its position in ongoing peace contacts in light of the alleged plot. Kyiv has strongly denied the accusations, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed Moscow’s narrative as a “deliberate distraction” aimed at derailing the peace process.
Fractured battlefield, fragile diplomacy
Despite active talks, the main stumbling block remains territory – particularly the status of Russian-occupied areas of eastern and southern Ukraine, including Donbas and Crimea. Any settlement will also require Moscow’s consent, which Western officials say still appears distant.
Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine would not abandon its internationally recognised borders. “A withdrawal from Donbas means everything will be over,” he warned, suggesting such a concession would invite further Russian aggression.
He thanked allied leaders for military and financial assistance but urged them to convert political pledges into firm, enforceable commitments.
“Either we end the war on just terms,” he said, “or we leave a time bomb for future generations.”
For now, diplomacy and warfare continue in parallel — with progress on paper still hostage to events on the battlefield and to the political calculations in Moscow, Kyiv and Western capitals.
