UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelensky declared peace is “90 per cent ready” in an impassioned New Year’s address.
Zelensky said the final 10 per cent of any deal would “determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe” and “save millions of lives” in a speech which focused squarely on standing firm against Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
His Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone of his own in a chilling call to action, telling troops “we believe in you and our victory”.
US-led peace talks have seen significant progress in recent weeks, as top envoys work around the clock to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Tensions have ramped up after Moscow released what it said was proof Ukraine tried to bomb Putin’s private home.
The Kremlin claimed drones were launched at the tyrant’s lakeside residence near Lake Valdai in north-west Russia.
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The reported plot angered peace broker President Trump, but Zelensky has fervently denied the allegation.
Russia released a map said to show the drones coming from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions, along with footage of a wrecked drone lying in snowy woodland.
The video, shot at night, showed a damaged drone lying in the snow in a forested area. The defence ministry said the alleged attack was “targeted, carefully planned and carried out in stages.”
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which documents the Ukraine-Russia conflict, said Tuesday it had not seen any “footage or reporting that typically follows Ukrainian deep strikes to corroborate the Kremlin’s claims of Ukrainian strikes threatening Putin’s residence in Novgorod Oblast”.
The Kremlin warned the alleged attack could force Russia to rethink its stance on peace talks.
But EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas dismissed the claims as a “deliberate distraction designed to wreck negotiations.”
In his 20-minute address, Zelensky insisted Ukraine would not accept peace “at any cost”.
He added: “We want the war to end – not the end of Ukraine.
“Can Russia end the war? Yes.
“Does it want to? No.
“Can the world force it to? Yes – and only that way will it work.”
Zelensky warned that pulling Ukrainian forces out of the eastern Donbas – the region highly coveted by Putin and his cronies – would mean “everything will be over”.
Russia is demanding full control of Donbas as part of any deal.
Moscow already occupies about 75 per cent of Donetsk and almost all of neighbouring Luhansk, together known as Donbas.
The region has been the biggest sticking point in talks, with Russia refusing to back down.
Zelensky thanked Ukraine’s allies, but said promises must be turned into action.
“Intentions must become security guarantees, and therefore – be ratified,” he said.
After talks with US President Donald Trump in Florida earlier this week, Zelensky said Washington had offered 15 years of security guarantees.
However, it remains unclear when or how those guarantees would begin.
“Signatures under weak agreements only fuel war,” Zelensky warned.
“Either the world stops Russia’s war, or Russia drags the world into its war.”
Putin’s own New Year speech was far shorter.
Referring to the invasion as a “special military operation”, he said Russia would support its troops “in both word and deed”.