Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine could beat Russia in the ongoing war by the end of 2025.
The Ukrainian president made the bold claim while in Croatia on Wednesday, while addressing the Ukraine-South East Europe summit.
He told those present: “In October, November and December, we have a real chance to move the situation towards peace and long-term stability.
“The situation on the battlefield creates an opportunity to make this choice – a choice in favour of decisive action to end the war no later than 2025.”
However, he did not explain how Kyiv intends to beat Vladimir Putin, or what makes him think there is such a definite end to the conflict just around the corner.
His remarks come as the West weigh up whether to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles – which allies have already supplied to the beleaguered country – into Russia, as a form of attack rather than defence.
While Putin reportedly expected to conquer Kyiv and seize the whole of Ukraine in a matter of days when he first invaded in February 2022, the Russian president has since hinted that he is ready to wait it out until his opponent exhausts their resources.
In December 2022, he admitted it could turn into a “long-term process” while his ally, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, said in May 2023 that the war could last for decades.
The US-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, claimed in July that Putin was even preparing Russians for at least 10 years of conflict.
Peace efforts between the warring countries have been particularly unsuccessful over the last two and half years, because Putin has demanded Zelenskyy concede some of the Ukrainian land he is occupying to Russia.
But Zelenskyy has made it clear that is a red line, and that he will only consider the war with Russia to be officially “over” once Moscow’s troops have left all of Ukraine’s territory – including the land Putin annexed in 2014, the peninsula of Crimea.
The Kremlin also claims that since Ukraine turned the tables and invaded the Russian region of Kursk in August, any chance of peace is not on the table.
Kyiv’s troops have been occupying the Russian area for more than two months now, and Putin’s army have been able to remove them.
Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has explained that the incursion is part of Ukraine’s “victory plan” which he is presenting to Western leaders.
On Thursday, he touched down in London to meet the new Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and UK PM Keir Starmer.
Speaking after his talks with Starmer, Zelensky said: “The victory plan aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war.
“I thank the United Kingdom for its continued defence support of our country, including with long-range weapons.”
He is set to meet Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday, and to meet Pope Francis on Friday, too.
A meeting of about 20 world leaders in Germany over the ongoing war is also set to be rescheduled, after US president Joe Biden had to hastily pull out to deal with the Hurricane Milton hitting Florida.
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