Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted he would agree a ceasefire deal to end the Ukraine war if Nato agrees to accept his country as a member.
In an interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president suggested he was prepared to end the ‘hot phase’ of the war in exchange for membership of the bloc.
He said if the Ukrainian territory he controls was taken ‘under the NATO umbrella’, he could return the rest, which is currently under Russian occupation, in a ‘diplomatic way’.
Zelensky has previously suggested that the war would not end until his country is returned to its internationally recognised borders.
‘If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,’ Zelensky said.
‘We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.’
The Ukrainian leader was answering questions on what president-elect Donald Trump’s desire to end the war would mean for his country.
It has been reported that one of the Republican’s plans to achieve this would involve Kyiv ceding the land taken by Russia in exchange for Ukraine’s Nato membership.
It comes after an alliance chief assured last month that Ukraine will become a Nato member in the future – but was unable to say when the country might join.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte reiterated on October 17 that the war-torn nation’s place is among NATO’s ranks.
‘Ukraine will be a member of NATO in the future,’ Rutte said. ‘The question is exactly about the ‘when’. I cannot answer that now.’
He said Vladimir Putin must understand that ‘we are in this, if necessary, for the long haul. And obviously we want to be in a place where Zelensky and Ukraine, from a position of strength, is able to start talks with Russia.’
Zelensky has previously insisted that a Nato membership invitation is central to his ‘victory plan’ to end the devastating with Russia.
Earlier this year, he presented this proposal to the Ukrainian parliament which included a refusal to cede territory to Russia as a precursor to coming to the negotiating table.
President Zelensky and Trump spoke on the phone earlier this month soon after he was re-elected.
The pair reportedly had a constructive exchange during with Zelensky saying the Ukrainian war ‘will end sooner’ following his election.
Speaking on November 17, Zelensky claimed he would like to see the two-and-half year conflict come top end next year through ‘diplomatic means.’
During an interview with Ukrainian radio, he said: ‘For our part, we must do everything we can to ensure that this war ends next year. We have to end it by diplomatic means.
‘And this, I think, is very important.’
‘We have to understand what the Russians want,’ Zelensky said.
Referring to Ukraine, he said: ‘You are at war with a state that does not value its people, that has a lot of equipment, that does not care how many people die.’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will only accept talks with Ukraine if Kyiv surrenders Ukrainian territory that Moscow occupies.
Meanwhile in the Russia-Ukraine war, sources have claimed that Moscow is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to reinforce its lines in Ukraine under the false promise of high salaried work and Russian citizenship.
Recruits say they have already been sent to the frontlines after being inducted into the Russian military with help from a Houthi-linked company.
Many of those heading to Russia claim to have been press-ganged into the military under the promise of a well-paid career away from the frontlines, recruits told the FT.
Yemenis expecting substantial salaries and safe employment in manufacturing roles say they arrived in Russia to be threatened and taken to Ukraine with little training.
Russia has, in recent weeks, looked to avoid full mobilisation by drawing on support from some 12,000 North Korean troops and mercenaries from India and Nepal.
The recruitment of Yemeni soldiers ‘appears to have begun as early as July’, the FT reports, months before Kim Jong Un sent his forces to buttress Putin’s lines.
One recruit estimated that he was part of one group of some 200 Yemenis conscripted to fight in Russia in September.
Some say they were tricked into joining after signing enlistment contracts they could not read, and were told they would be working in lucrative fields like engineering.
This is a breaking news story – more to follow