Zelenskiy says freezing conflict may have serious consequence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he raised the risk of a frozen conflict with Russia and pressed for security guarantees in talks with US President-elect Donald Trump and France’s Emmanuel Macron, according to Bloomberg.

Zelenskiy said he sought to drive home his position that Ukraine can only enter into ceasefire talks from a position of strength — and told the leaders in Paris on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t want to end the war.

“Nobody wants to end the war more than us,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv on Monday, as he weighed in on inducing Putin to back down. “We need to force him — one can force him only if Ukraine is strong,” he said, meaning a strong military and the capability to launch long-range attacks.

Macron orchestrated the meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy in the French capital as leaders gathered for the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral. The Ukrainian has made overtures to the president-elect, who has been skeptical about sustained support for Kyiv — and has call for a swift end to the war.