Zelensky hints he could strike a ceasefire deal to end war with Russia – even if Putin doesn’t return land currently occupied

Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted he would agree a ceasefire to end the war in Ukraine if NATO agrees to accept his country as a member.

In an interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president suggested he was willing to end the “hot phase” of the war in exchange for membership of the bloc.

He said that if the Ukrainian territory he controls were taken “under the NATO umbrella,” he could return the rest, currently under Russian occupation, in a “diplomatic manner.”

Zelensky has previously suggested that the war would only end when his country returns to internationally recognized borders.

“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we must bring the territory of Ukraine under our control under the NATO umbrella,” Zelensky said.

‘We have to do it quickly. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back through diplomatic means.”

The Ukrainian leader answered questions about what newly-elected President Donald Trump’s desire to end the war would mean for his country.

Reportedly, one of the Republicans’ plans to achieve this would involve Kiev ceding the land occupied by Russia in exchange for Ukraine’s NATO membership.

Volodymyr Zelensky makes a joint statement with the Prime Minister of Denmark after their meeting in Kiev on November 19

President Zelensky and Trump will meet on September 27 at Trump Tower in New York

Ukrainian soldiers push a howitzer towards Russian positions near Khasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine on November 18

It comes after an alliance chief last month assured that Ukraine would become a NATO member in the future, but could not say when the country could join.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated on October 17 that the war-torn country’s place is one of NATO’s ranks.

“Ukraine will become a member of NATO in the future,” Rutte said. ‘The question is precisely about the ‘when’. I can’t answer that now.’

He said Vladimir Putin must understand that “we are in this for the long term, if necessary. And of course we want to get to a place where Zelensky and Ukraine, from a position of strength, can start talks with Russia.”

Zelensky has previously emphasized that an invitation to NATO membership is central to his “victory plan” to end the devastating situation 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.

Meanwhile, German defense giant Rheinmetall and Lithuania signed deals on Friday to start building a $190 million munitions factory to make artillery shells in the EU and NATO member state, which Russia is nervously watching.

Called by Vilnius the largest defense investment in Lithuania’s history, the plant is seen as another sign that Europe is rearming to counter security threats from Moscow.

Rheinmetall signed a land lease agreement and a supply contract with the Lithuanian government for the purchase of 155mm ammunition.

“This agreement will provide maximum benefit to Lithuania, both in the field of defense and in the field of ammunition,” Lithuanian Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite told reporters in Vilnius.

Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest manufacturer of military equipment, said it would invest 180 million euros ($190 million) in the plant, which should be operational by mid-2026.

Once completed, it could produce “tens of thousands of 155mm caliber artillery shells per year,” Rheinmetall said in a statement.

The factory will be located near Baisogala, a northern Lithuanian town close to a NATO air base.

Zelensky makes a phone call to Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

President Zelensky and Trump spoke on the phone earlier this month, shortly after he was re-elected.

The pair reportedly had a constructive conversation with Zelensky, who said the Ukrainian war “will end sooner” after his election.

During his speech on November 17, Zelensky claimed he would like to see the two-and-a-half-year conflict come to an end next year by “diplomatic means.”

During an interview with Ukrainian radio, he said: “For our part, we must do everything to ensure that this war ends next year. We have to put an end to it diplomatically.

“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 and that does not care how many people die.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will only accept talks with Ukraine if Kiev surrenders Ukrainian territory that Moscow occupies.

Meanwhile, sources in the Russia-Ukraine war have claimed that Moscow is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to strengthen its lines in Ukraine under the false promise of high-paying work and Russian citizenship.

Recruits say they have already been sent to the front lines after being absorbed into the Russian army with the help of a Houthi-linked company.

Many of those going to Russia claim they were pressured into the army under the promise of a well-paying career away from the front lines, recruits told the FT.

Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and representatives of the defense industry in Moscow, Russia on November 22

Ukrainian soldiers worked with ‘pawn’ artillery in the northern direction of the Donbass front line in January last year

Yemenis expecting substantial salaries and secure employment in manufacturing positions say they have arrived in Russia, where they have been threatened and transferred to Ukraine with little training.

Russia has tried to prevent full mobilization in recent weeks by tapping into the support of some 12,000 North Korean troops and mercenaries from India and Nepal.

The recruitment of Yemeni soldiers “appears to have started as early as July,” the FT reports, months before Kim Jong Un sent his troops to reinforce Putin’s lines.

One recruit estimated he was part of a group of about 200 Yemenis sent to fight in Russia in September.

Some say they were tricked into joining after signing employment contracts they couldn’t read and being told they would be working in lucrative fields like engineering.