Zelenskyy: Russia's statements about continuing war in 2026 require courage from our partners
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has drawn attention to another signal from the Kremlin indicating not a desire to end the war, but an intention to continue it, and stressed the importance of "partners seeing this, in particular partners in the United States of America."
"Today we heard another signal from Moscow that they are preparing next year as a year of war. And these are signals not only for us. It is important that partners see this. And it is important that they not only see it, but also react, in particular partners in the United States of America, who often say that Russia supposedly wants to end the war. But Russia is sounding a completely different rhetoric, different signals – and as official orders to their army," Zelenskyy said in a video address on Wednesday evening, published on his Telegram channel.
Zelenskyy said this mood of Russia must be "seen and reacted to."
"And if they have this kind of mood, then they will undermine diplomacy, trying to simply cover up their desire to destroy Ukraine, Ukrainians, and the desire to legitimize Russia’s theft of our land with various diplomatic formulations and pressure on one or another point in the documents. And then there are other countries in Europe that someone in Russia may one day call their supposedly ‘historical lands," the president said.
In his opinion, "real protection from this Russian history of madness is needed, and now we will continue to work with all partners so that such protection really exists."
"Security solutions are needed, financial solutions are needed, in particular regarding Russian assets, political solutions are needed. And all our partners need the courage to see the truth, recognize the truth, and act accordingly," he said.
"I want to thank everyone who supports Ukraine and the work to achieve security in this way," he said.
Russian Defense Minister Andriy Belousov, amid the peace efforts of Ukraine and the United States, said the "key task" for Moscow next year is to maintain and increase the "gained pace of the offensive." This was reported on Wednesday, December 17, by Russian propaganda media.
The head of the Russian Defense Ministry, justifying Moscow’s aggression, claims that the policies of European countries and NATO "create real prerequisites" for the continuation of military actions in 2026.