Ukraine's Zelensky signals peace talks as trump looms over future

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation this week unusually subduedly, indicating that he is ready for negotiations with Russia. This statement marks the first time he has suggested such talks since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of the country over two years ago.

Zelensky proposed that Moscow should send a delegation to the subsequent peace summit, scheduled to take place in November. Russia was not invited to the previous peace conference, held in Switzerland last month, because Zelensky stated that talks could only occur after Russia withdraws from Ukraine.

Kyiv is currently grappling with a dual problem: a challenging situation on the front line and political uncertainty regarding the level of future support from Ukraine's closest allies.

Although the progress of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine has significantly slowed due to deliveries of American weapons, the Russians are still capturing Ukrainian territory piece by piece, albeit at a much slower pace than before.

At the same time, questions are emerging about the willingness of some of Ukraine's closest and most important allies – especially the United States and Germany – to continue allocating funds to support Kyiv in the conflict.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Zelensky said that Ukraine was not receiving enough Western assistance to win the war, stressing that its outcome will depend on factors beyond the country's borders.

"Not everything depends on us. We know what would be a just end to the war, but it doesn’t depend only on us. It depends not only on our people and our desire, but also on finance, on weapons, on political support, on unity in the EU, in NATO, in the world," the president said.

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst stated that Zelensky's change of tone was likely a response to events in the United States, where former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that his vice-presidential candidate would be J.D. Vance, a staunch critic of providing support to Ukraine.

Trump and Zelensky spoke on Friday, and according to Trump, it was a "very good phone call."

The former president said that he would "bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives," while Zelensky mentioned that they discussed "what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting."