Ukraine this week expressed dissatisfaction with ongoing peace talks with Russia and the United States, saying American pressure was too unilateral.
“As of today, I cannot say that the results are sufficient,” Zelensky told Ukrainians in a video address Wednesday night.
Before Wednesday’s talks in Geneva began, President Zelenskiy told Axios news agency that Russia’s demand for the remaining one-fifth of the eastern Donetsk region not controlled by Russia would not be acceptable to Ukrainians.
“Emotionally, the people will never forgive this. They will never forgive. They … will not forgive me, they will not forgive (the United States),” Zelenskiy said, adding that Ukrainians “cannot understand why” they would be asked to give up additional land.
Russia currently controls about 19% of Ukraine, down from 26% as of March 2022.
Last month, 54% of Ukrainians surveyed told the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology that they categorically rejected the transfer of the entire Donetsk region to Russian control, even in exchange for stronger security, while only 39% accepted the offer.
Two-thirds of respondents also said they did not believe the current U.S.-sponsored peace talks would lead to lasting peace.
Instead of handing over the land now, President Zelenskiy favors freezing the current lines of communication as a pretext for a ceasefire and territorial negotiations.
“If we put it in writing…if we continue to maintain the lines of communication, I think people will support this referendum. That’s my opinion,” he told Axios.
blame ukraine
US President Donald Trump told Reuters last month that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that was keeping the peace deal in place.
But Zelensky said it was “unfair” that Trump was putting public pressure on Ukraine to accept Russia’s terms, adding: “I hope it’s just his tactic.”
U.S. senators who visited Odesa last week agreed, saying they want the government to put more pressure on Russia.
“No one, literally no one, believes that Russia is acting in good faith in its negotiations with our government and the Ukrainians, so pressure is key,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
On the day of the Geneva talks, Russia unleashed a barrage of 396 attack drones and 29 missiles on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the second major attack in six days. On February 12, another attack left 100,000 households in Kiev alone without power and 3,500 apartment buildings without heat.
“Even on the very day that a new format (trilateral and bilateral with the United States) begins in Geneva, Russia will welcome us with a strike,” President Zelenskiy said in a video address. “This is a very clear indication of what Russia wants and what Russia truly intends.”
President Zelensky has repeatedly called on Western allies to halt Russian energy sales to circumvent sanctions and halt exports of parts to third countries that are re-exported to Russia’s military industry.
Russia is thought to use an estimated 400 to 1,000 oil tankers to transport and sell crude oil. France has seized two of the tankers, and the United States seized a second tanker on Monday.
The US Senate postponed a vote on the sanctions bill, which has 85% support, due to President Trump’s opposition. The bill would impose secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil, particularly India and China.
Will Russia be able to occupy Donetsk anyway?
Russia has been fighting to occupy two eastern Ukraine regions, Luhansk and Donetsk, since 2014, sparking an invasion that it says has Russian-speaking residents being persecuted by the Kiev government.
Russia succeeded in seizing all of Luhansk late last year, but analysts say it is doubtful Ukraine will be able to capture the rest of Donetsk without serious losses, as it has heavily fortified a series of cities in the region’s west.
Observers say that mission has become even more difficult after Russia lost access this month to Starlink terminals that helped it coordinate communications, drone flights and precise counter-artillery fire.
As Russia’s ground offensive stalled, Ukraine took the initiative to make gains in Dnipropetrovsk, said Konstantin Mashovets, a Ukrainian military observer.
Observers say Ukrainian forces reportedly captured 201 square kilometers of territory from Russian occupation forces between February 11 and 15, marking the fastest advance since the 2023 counteroffensive.
Russia is trying to replace Starlink with stratospheric balloons, reported Ukrainian Ministry of Defense Advisor Serhiy “Flash” Beskhrestnov.
Ukraine’s unmanned systems commander said it would likely take Russia six months to replace Starlink, offering the Ukrainian military an opportunity to push back Russian advances.
The Ukrainian General Staff also estimated that it suffered 31,680 casualties in January, a sustainable number considering Russia’s conscription level of about 40,000 per month. But experts say a major attack on the rest of Donetsk could increase that number.
“Our goal is to confirm enemy losses of at least 50,000 people every month,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on February 12, echoing the goal set by President Zelenskiy last month.
Fedorov has begun ramping up production of remotely controlled FPV drones for use on the front lines, and Ukraine now claims drones account for 60% of all Russian casualties.
As part of that effort, joint drone production facilities are being planned in several European countries. The first one will become operational in Germany on February 13, and nine more are planned, President Zelenskiy told the Munich Security Conference.
In addition, Ukraine’s European allies pledged 38 billion euros ($44.7 billion) in military aid this year at a Ramstein-style conference (an alliance of more than 50 countries planning military aid to Ukraine), including 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) for Ukrainian-made drones, “one of the most successful ‘Ramsteins,'” Fedorov said.
The European Union also voted to borrow 90 billion euros ($106 billion) in financial support for Ukraine this year and next.
After Trump took office in January 2025, the United States stopped providing military and financial aid to Ukraine.
Against President Trump’s wishes, the U.S. Senate has voted to spend $400 million over each of the next two years as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which will pay U.S. companies for weapons for Ukraine’s military. European countries have pledged to spend at least 5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) on U.S.-made weapons this year.
Europe is also expected to be a major contributor to the “security forces” guarding lines of communication after the ceasefire, and at Ukraine’s insistence, U.S. representatives also met with representatives from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland before talks in Geneva.
