Zelenskyy ready to freeze war on current front line, calls giving up Donbas unjust

MOSCOW: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is ready to freeze fighting on the current front line to end the war. He said this on 21 October 2026 on the programme “Fox & Friends” on the American channel Fox News.

Host Brian Kilmeade asked whether he would agree to a deal in which everything is frozen as it stands and Ukraine keeps 75 per cent or more of the country’s territory. Zelenskyy replied: “Yes, at this moment we have to freeze the war, and I think this is the real way to end it.” He said it could be called a ceasefire or, in President Trump’s words, a stop to the killing. The figure of 75 per cent was put forward by the host, and Zelenskyy did not repeat it. According to a 14 October assessment by Russia Matters, a project of Harvard’s Belfer Center, Russia holds about 19 per cent of Ukraine and Ukraine holds about 81 per cent of the territory.

Zelenskyy said a ceasefire would be a first step. After that, he said, he would ask the US president and European leaders for security guarantees so that there is no fear of occupation and a return of aggression. He also stressed the need for the return of 9.5 million Ukrainians who are abroad.

Asked by Kilmeade whether Donbas would be given up for peace, Zelenskyy called it an “injustice”. He claimed that Russia has not succeeded in 2026 and is not winning on the battlefield. According to Vocal, an ISW estimate says Russia made net gains of about 144.5 square kilometres between January and September 2026, while Putin claimed 6,500 square kilometres.

Citing an interview with ABC News, Azer News wrote that Zelenskyy refused to cede more territory to Russia and expressed dissatisfaction with American support.

According to Vocal, on the same day Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was presenting a new American proposal to Putin in St Petersburg. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in September that Russia’s conditions had not changed. They include the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and an end to Ukraine’s NATO membership. According to Yahoo, US President Trump is increasing pressure on Kyiv to reach a settlement.