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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said “we hope that we can finish this war this year” on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
But he warned that Ukraine needs security guarantees to prevent Moscow returning, suggesting EU and Nato membership will help. Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine joining Nato.
Earlier, Zelensky said a peace deal with Russia could start with a “full” exchange of prisoners of war.
Zelensky was speaking at a summit of European leaders, plus Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who were in Kyiv to show their support.
Speaking at a news conference, Zelensky was asked what his hopes were for Ukraine and its people after three years of war.
“We hope that we can finish the war this year,” he responded, adding that it had been “very difficult” for the whole nation.
In the short term, he said Ukraine needed security guarantees to prevent Russia returning in years to come.
Joining the EU and Nato soon would “help us very much”, he added.
Zelensky recently said that he would be willing to stand down as president if Ukraine was made a member of Nato in return. Russia said it would not accept this as part of any peace deal.
He was asked about the US and his relationship with President Donald Trump several times, but did not respond directly. Zelensky said he hoped “that the United States will continue support, like all the partners”.
Last week, Trump called the Ukrainian president “a dictator”, and said he had done a “terrible job” of leading Ukraine. It followed Zelensky saying Trump was “living in a disinformation space” governed by Moscow.
Trump has repeatedly called for a “quick peace” – an end to hostilities that would see Ukraine make considerable concessions to Russia.
Zelensky also said a complete prisoner of war exchange with Russia could be the “start” of ending the war.
There have been 60 prisoner exchanges between the two sides since the war began, including one in December involving hundreds of prisoners swapped.
“This is the fair and just option,” Zelensky said, noting that there are thousands of Ukrainians detained in Russia – some who have been held since the Crimea invasion in 2014.
Ukraine does not publish numbers of prisoners of war being held by Russia, but the total is thought to be more than 8,000.
Attendees at the summit included European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
Other leaders, including from the UK, Germany and Japan, spoke by video link. There was no sign of US representation.
Trudeau said “might no longer means right in this world” – in an apparent reference to recent high-level talks between Russia and the US.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said she was “open minded” about sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine if and when the war ends, but added that “a lot of questions have to be answered” first.
“In this fight for survival, it is not only the destiny of Ukraine that is at stake. It’s Europe’s destiny,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
At the news conference, she said that Ukraine could join the European Union before 2030 if it continues the speed and quality of its reforms.
The summit was happening ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting with Trump in Washington DC, where Ukraine was expected to be top of the agenda.
Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died since Russia launched its full-scale invasion three years ago, while large swathes of Ukraine have been destroyed.
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