Volodymyr Zelensky insists Ukraine peace deal is '90 per cent' done - but warns final stage will determine 'fate of Europe' and 'save millions of lives'
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was only '10 per cent away' from a peace deal in his New Year address.
By MARK NICOL DIPLOMACY EDITOR
Published: 22:35 GMT, 1 January 2026 | Updated: 01:47 GMT, 2 January 2026
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was only '10 per cent away' from a peace deal in his New Year address.
But the Ukrainian president also insisted he would not sign a 'weak' deal at any cost in the 20-minute speech.
The final part of the agreement will 'determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe' and 'save millions of lives', Mr Zelensky added.
And his reservations remain around ceding territory to Russia in eastern Ukraine, which Mr Zelensky warned will embolden Vladimir Putin.
He said: '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.
'Signatures under weak agreements only fuel war. Either the world stops Russia's war, or Russia drags the world into its war.'
Ukraine is expected to resume negotiations with US and European officials tomorrow, while the UK-led Coalition of the Willing is expected to meet on Sunday.
Mr Zelensky is seeking to secure stronger security guarantees from the US as part of a negotiated peace settlement. It comes as Western intelligence sources dismissed Kremlin claims that Ukraine launched a drone attack on Putin's Black Sea hideaway.
The CIA and other agencies are understood to have concluded the strikes Putin described to Donald Trump did not happen.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks following a meeting with US President Donald Trump on December 28, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin following a meeting with the US President about the war in Ukraine on August 15, 2025
After the claims were dismissed, the Kremlin produced a 'map' of the incoming drones yesterday.
Russian authorities supposedly plotted the trajectory of the devices into the Novgorod region.
Mr Trump initially expressed sympathy for Putin, but within hours questions were raised about Russia's account.
Ukraine denied the attack and claimed Russia was 'lying' to undermine peace efforts.
The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, described Russia's allegation as 'a deliberate distraction'.
The Kremlin also released a video featuring a senior officer, Major General Alexander Romanenkov, explaining how Ukraine conducted the attack. He said they launched Chaklun-V drones containing 13lb of explosives.
In a post on Telegram, a Russian military spokesman said: 'Decrypting of routing data revealed the final target of the Ukrainian drones was the Russian presidential residence in Novgorod. This will be transferred to the American side through established channels.'