Zelensky: Deal to end war 'ten percent away'

(Patria) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Wednesday that his country is "ten percent" away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but warned that the most important issues have not been resolved and cautioned against rewarding Moscow, AFP reported.

Efforts led by the United States to end the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II have accelerated in recent weeks, but both sides remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war agreement.

Russia, which occupies about twenty percent of Ukraine, advocates for full control over the eastern Donbas region as part of a deal, but Kyiv has warned that ceding territory would embolden Moscow.

In his New Year's address, Zelensky said his country wants an end to the war, but not "at any cost," and that any agreement requires strong security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again.

"A peace agreement is ninety percent ready. Ten percent remains. And this is much more than just numbers," Zelensky said in an address published on his Telegram profile. "It is those ten percent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe," he added.

His speech followed just hours after U.S. officials, including high-ranking envoy Steve Witkoff, held a call with Ukrainian and European security advisors on the next steps to end the nearly four-year conflict.

The war, now entering its fifth calendar year, has resulted in a tidal wave of destruction that has displaced millions and left entire Ukrainian cities in ruins.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Russians to believe in victory in Ukraine during his New Year's address, the fourth since the start of the war.

The Russian leader has consistently told his citizens that the military intends to forcibly seize the remaining Ukrainian land he declared Russian if negotiations fail.

Addressing soldiers, whom he called "heroes," Putin said in his address: "We believe in you and in our victory."

The Kremlin announced this week that it would "tighten" its negotiating position on ending the war, after accusing Ukraine of launching dozens of drones at Putin's residence on a lake in the Novgorod region between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Moscow on Wednesday released footage of a drone it claims Kyiv sent towards the residence.

Russia called it a "personal" and "terrorist attack" against Putin, saying it would tighten its negotiating position in talks on the war in Ukraine.
The video, filmed at night, shows a damaged drone in the snow in a wooded area. The Ministry of Defense stated that the alleged attack was "targeted, carefully planned, and executed in stages."

The U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which documents the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, stated on Tuesday that it had not seen any "footage or reports that typically accompany Ukrainian deep strikes to confirm the Kremlin's claims of Ukrainian strikes threatening Putin's residence in the Novgorod region."
Putin has not publicly commented on the attack, except that the Kremlin said he was informed about it in a phone call with Trump, and Moscow did not disclose where the Russian leader was at the time.

Putin's residences and private life are shrouded in secrecy in Russia.