“We hope that we can end this war this year,” said Ukrainian President Folodimir Zellinski.
But he warned that Ukraine needs security guarantees to prevent the return of Moscow, indicating that the membership of the European Union and NATO will help. Russia has constantly opposed the idea of Ukraine joining NATO.
Earlier, Zelinski said that a peace agreement with Russia could start with a “complete” exchange of war prisoners.
Zelinski was speaking at the summit of European leaders, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was in Kiev to show their support.
Speaking at a press conference, Zelinski was asked about his hopes of Ukraine and its people three years after the war.
He replied, “We hope that we can end the war this year,” adding that it was “very difficult” for the entire nation.
In the short term, he said that Ukraine needs security guarantees to prevent Russia in the coming years.
He added that joining the European Union and NATO will help us a lot.
Zelinski recently said he would be ready to withdraw as a president if Ukraine became a member of NATO in return. Russia said it would not accept this as part of any peace deal.
He was asked about the United States and his relationship with President Donald Trump several times, but he did not respond directly. Zelinski said he hoped “the United States will continue to support, like all partners.”
Last week, Trump described Ukrainian President “dictator”, and said he had “a terrible work” to lead Ukraine. This was followed by Zelensky, saying that Trump was “living in misleading information” governed by Moscow.
Trump has repeatedly called for a “quick peace” – the end of the hostile works that Ukraine sees great concessions to Russia.
Zelinski also said that the exchanging war with Russia could be the “beginning” of the war.
There had been a 60 prisoner exchange between the two sides since the war began, including one in December, which included hundreds of prisoners.
“This is the fair and fair option,” Zelinski said, noting that there are thousands of Ukrainians detained in Russia – some who have been detained since the invasion of Crimea in 2014.
Ukraine does not publish numbers of Russia's war prisoners, but it is believed that the total is more than 8000.
Among the attendees at the summit are the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Lin, President of the European Council, Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
Other leaders, including from the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, spoke by the video link. There was no sign of acting.
“It may no longer mean right in this world,” Trudeau said – in a clear reference to the recent talks at the last level between Russia and the United States.
Danish Prime Minister Metty Frederksen said it is “open” about sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if the war ends, but added that “many questions must be answered” first.
“In this battle for survival, not only the fate of Ukraine at stake. It is the fate of Europe,” Von der Lynn wrote on X.
At the press conference, she said that Ukraine can join the European Union before 2030 if it continues to speed and quality reforms.
The summit was speaking before the meeting of French President Emmanuel Macron with Trump in Washington, DC, where Ukraine was expected to be at the top of the agenda.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died since Russia has launched its invasion three years ago, while large areas of Ukraine were destroyed.
