President Zelensky Sees Opportunity To End The War In Ukraine Next Year

Most recently President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. (Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa)

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday the current situation on the battlefield had created opportunities for measures to end the Russian invasion that had lasted more than 2.5 years at the latest next year.

In a speech at the third summit of Ukraine-Europe Tenggara in the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, the Ukrainian leader said Kyiv relied on support from its key allies, including the United States.

"In October, November, and December, we have a real opportunity to move the situation towards peace and long-term stability," he said.

"The situation on the battlefield creates an opportunity to make this choice, a choice that supports decisive action to end the war by 2025 at the latest," he continued.

However, President Zelensky did not explain how and why he saw the opportunity.

On the other hand, Russian forces currently control nearly 20 percent of Ukraine, precisely in the eastern and southern regions.

Moscow forces continue to control eastern Ukraine, while Kyiv forces control a small part of Russia's territory across the border, two months after launching an attack on the Kursk region.

President Zelensky appealed to Kyiv's ally's political will to approve his " winning plans", which he said envisioned Ukraine's invitation to NATO.

He has put forward the plan as a way to put Ukraine in a strong position for potential negotiations with Russia, although nothing is currently being known.

"As I said, the plan was designed to strengthen Ukraine. In my opinion, there should be no skepticism from partners, if they are not afraid of the Russian Federation. Because we want to get an invitation to join NATO first step," he told reporters after the meeting.

President Zelensky also asked senior politicians from 12 southeastern European countries at the summit to invest in Ukraine's weapons production, which Kyiv has stepped up during the war.

"This will help us now, but after this war, this will guarantee the power of your own arsenal," he said.

President Zelensky urged summit participants to join forces in efforts to rebuild Ukraine.

"We are not only talking about rebuilding what Russia has destroyed in this war, but also about creating new energy, industry and social opportunities that will make Europe stronger," he said.

The summit between Ukraine and Southeast European countries is the third, after the first in August 2022 in Athens, Greece, and the second in Tirana, Albania.

Kyiv is known to have lobbied allies intensively to allow Western gun attacks on deeper military targets in Russia.

President Zelensky's comments come amid great uncertainty for Kyiv ahead of the United States general election on November 5 which could return Donald Trump to the White House.

Trump said he would try to end the war quickly, which Kyiv supporters fear could result in a devastating concession forced on Ukraine.