Zelenskyy says he would accept a deal freezing Ukraine front lines
Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Fox & Friends he would accept a peace deal that freezes the war along its current front lines, calling it a 'real way to end this war' — while rejecting any handover of the Donbas as 'not fair'.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he would accept a peace deal that freezes the war along its current front lines, calling it a “real way to end this war”.
Speaking on Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Wednesday, Zelenskyy was asked by host Brian Kilmeade whether he would “accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75% or more of your country”.
“Yes, right now we have to freeze, and I think this is [a] real way to end this war. We call it ceasefire … President Trump called it freeze and stop,” Zelenskyy replied.
He described the freeze as “the minimum of what we need from Russia today”, adding: “Then of course we’ll go to President [Trump] and to Europeans and we’ll ask [for] security guarantees.”
Zelenskyy rejected giving up the Donbas region to secure peace, telling Kilmeade it was “not fair”. Moscow has illegally occupied the vast majority of the Donbas — Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast — since staging sham referenda there in September 2022, the New York Post reported.
Asked about Russia’s battlefield fortunes, Zelenskyy said: “They’re not winning on the battlefield.”
The interview aired as US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, after which Putin agreed “in principle” to resume trilateral talks with Washington and Kyiv after 10 November, his foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said.
Sources:
- Fox News — “Ukraine’s Zelenskyy open to freezing front lines in ceasefire with Russia”: https://foxnews.com/world/ukraines-zelenskyy-open-freezing-front-lines-ceasefire-russia
- New York Post — “Ukraine’s Zelensky says he’d accept peace deal with Russia that ‘freezes’ front lines: ‘Real way to end war’”: https://nypost.com/2026/10/21/world-news/ukraines-volodymyr-zelensky-would-accept-russian-peace-deal-that-freezes-front-lines/
- The Standard (carrying AFP) — “Zelensky calls for freezing of front with Russia as first step to talks”: https://www.thestandard.com.hk/world/article/346148/Zelensky-calls-for-freezing-of-front-with-Russia-as-first-step-to-talks
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