In a fresh interview with the Canadian broadcaster CBC News, cited by RBC-Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a series of resonant statements about the nature of the conflict and the prospects for its resolution. The central message of his remarks is that in Russia's war against Ukraine there can no longer be a victory for both sides: because of the scale of human losses, the conflict "stopped being a win for both sides from the very first day." According to Zelensky, the only real victory available now is simply to stop the fighting in order to save human lives, rather than to seek a formula that is equally advantageous to both parties.
"Putin Does Not Need Kilometers"
Separately, the head of the Ukrainian state criticized some Western partners who, in his words, mistakenly believe that Moscow needs only part of Ukrainian territory. "He has the largest territory in the world, and he needs some kilometers? That is why it is very strange when some partners say: he only needs this part of Ukraine, these kilometers, and that's all," Zelensky stated. He called such logic a "crazy idea" and emphasized that, in his assessment, the Kremlin's goal is far broader than obtaining a separate piece of land: it is about the full subjugation of the country and making all of Ukraine part of Russia.
The End of the "Win-Win" Formula and the Question of Sanctions
Commenting on the idea of a solution that is advantageous to both Russia and Ukraine, Zelensky stated plainly: "Between us, there can be no win-win in this war." He also commented on sanctions policy, saying that the United States should act more strongly and decisively to completely destroy Russia's ability to wage war. At the same time, in his words, Ukraine and the United States are in constant dialogue and continue negotiations, and the American side is taking various support measures.
Negotiations with the US and Preparations for a Meeting with Trump
Zelensky said that the American side asked not to disclose the details of the negotiations in the media while the outlined ideas are still being worked out. Currently, in his words, preparations are underway for a meeting between the President of Ukraine and Donald Trump in New York, scheduled for the end of September. It is worth noting that earlier Steve Kushner named the territorial issue as the main obstacle in the negotiations: in his words, the US has prepared the main part of an agreement on ending the war, but Kyiv does not agree to Putin's territorial demands regarding the Donbas.
Contradictory Data
There is a notable discrepancy between sources in the interpretation of Zelensky's key quote. The primary RBC-Ukraine material conveys the president's words in the sense that there is no "win-win" formula in the war and that the only victory is to stop the fighting. However, a number of secondary publications (in particular, osnmedia.ru and 4esnok.by) present the same statement as an admission that "Ukraine will not be able to win" and that "there will no longer be winners." These are formulations with different meanings: in the original, the point is the absence of a mutually beneficial outcome, not the impossibility of Ukraine's victory as such, and when quoting it is important not to substitute one construction for the other. In addition, information about a possible "energy truce" between Ukraine and the RF in winter, which, according to an RBC-Ukraine source, may be the result of Witkoff and Kushner's work, currently comes from a single anonymous source and has not been officially confirmed by either side.
Additional context is provided by statements from the Ukrainian negotiating team. According to David Arakhamia, one of the members of the negotiating team, Russia could return to the negotiation process as early as the beginning of October — after the State Duma elections, which are expected to take place in September. Thus, the coming weeks, including the meeting in New York scheduled for the end of September, may determine whether the current dialogue can be turned into a format of specific agreements on a ceasefire.
