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Russia putting an end to aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy targets and cargo ships could pave the way for negotiations to end the war, the Ukrainian president has said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists in Kyiv on Monday that “when it comes to energy and freedom of navigation, getting a result on these points would be a signal that Russia may be ready to end the war”.
Ukraine has been bracing for a painful winter after a series of Russian missile strikes on thermal power plants destroyed almost half of its energy generation. The country is now largely dependent on its nuclear power plants and the import of energy from European countries.
If Moscow and Kyiv agreed to end strikes on their respective energy infrastructures, it would be a significant step towards de-escalating the conflict, Zelenskyy said in reference to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries.
“We saw during the first [peace] summit that there could be a decision on energy security. In other words: we do not attack their energy infrastructures, they don’t attack ours. Could this lead to the end of the war’s hot phase? I think so,” he said.
Ukraine’s military has suffered a series of setbacks in recent months as Russian forces pressed ahead in several areas along the 1,000km frontline, despite an unexpected offensive Kyiv mounted in Russia’s Kursk region where its troops still hold territory.
The battlefield losses and the prospect of a winter marked by prolonged power cuts have prompted Zelenskyy to accelerate his efforts to get western support for his “victory plan”, which includes an invitation for Kyiv to join Nato and further security guarantees that would deter Russia from attacking again.
But the Ukrainian leader has also been faced with increased pressure to look for a negotiated end to the conflict, given that Donald Trump who has vowed to end the war “on day one”, could return to the White House if he wins the US presidential election next month.
Russia’s readiness to negotiate “depends firstly on the US elections”, said Zelenskyy, adding that he expected a “more positive reaction” from the US vote. “Not because there will be a new president, but because right now the focus of the US is on the elections and I think it probably makes any harsh statement challenging; they don’t want the added risk.”
Zelenskyy denied any discussions with western countries over a land-for-peace deal that would see Ukraine brought into the Nato fold in exchange for giving up territories at present held by Russia.
“Apparently, some partners may think about it. But they do not communicate this directly through me, but rather through the media.
“In all discussions, we now raise the issue of security guarantees, and the strongest of all is Nato,” he said.
The suggested “deterrence package” was a way to compensate for Ukraine agreeing to hand over its nuclear weapons following the fall of the Soviet Union, said Zelenskyy. When Ukraine gave up its atomic arsenal in the 1990s, Russia signed international treaties guaranteeing the former Soviet republic’s internationally recognised borders. But Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored those documents when he ordered the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“We gave away and got nothing in return, except for full-scale war and a lot of victims,” said Zelenskyy. “We do not have nuclear weapons, we aren’t in Nato and we won’t be in Nato during the war; that’s why I need this deterrence package.”
Ukraine has been planning a second peace summit to discuss the possibility of ending the war, but Russia’s foreign minister said Moscow would refuse to participate in the summit.
