Zelensky calls for fair peace with no ‘rewards’ for Putin

By AFP
April 30, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking during a meeting on February 5, 2025, in this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service. — AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking during a meeting on February 5, 2025, in this handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service. — AFP

KYIV, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Tuesday for a “fair” end to the war with Russia without “rewards” for Vladimir Putin, pushing back against demands for Kyiv to make territorial concessions.

“We all want this war to end in a fair way -- with no rewards for Putin, especially no land,” Zelensky said via videoconference at a summit organised by Poland. The comment came amid reports the United States suggested to freeze the front line and accept the Russian control of the Crimean peninsula, which it seized in 2014, something Zelensky balks at.

But US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he believed the Ukrainian leader might concede the Black Sea peninsula as part of a settlement. Russia has also repeatedly demanded to keep the territory in southern and eastern Ukraine that it occupies and for Kyiv to cede even more land. Washington has said that this week will be “critical” for peace efforts.