Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there is an opportunity to launch substantive negotiations on ending the war before next winter. According to him, Russia is gradually losing the initiative on the battlefield, while tougher sanctions could push the Kremlin toward dialogue.
In an interview with Face the Nation, Zelenskyy said Russian forces have been losing the initiative on the battlefield since December 2025. He noted that as early as January he informed U.S. partners about what he described as a “window of opportunity” for negotiations.
“I believe we have a window for negotiations because Russia will be losing more and more troops every month,” the president said.
He stressed that Russian forces are currently unable to capture more territory than Ukraine manages to liberate during the same period. According to Zelenskyy, this is one of the reasons why the Kremlin has intensified large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukrainian cities.
The president said a diplomatic path should be found before the start of next winter. At the same time, he emphasized that this depends on increasing domestic pressure on Vladimir Putin as well as stronger sanctions from the United States and Europe.
Speaking about potential mediators, Zelenskyy pointed to the E3 format, which includes the United Kingdom, France and Germany. In his view, these countries could represent Europe in a future negotiating process.
He also mentioned Türkiye, which has previously played a role in humanitarian arrangements between Kyiv and Moscow, including efforts to secure the return of prisoners of war.
At the same time, Zelenskyy stressed that the strongest negotiating format would involve Ukraine, the United States, Europe and Russia.
The Ukrainian leader also said that U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could visit Ukraine in the coming weeks. According to Zelenskyy, American negotiators have visited Moscow several times but have yet to travel to Kyiv.
“I think it is important for them to come to Ukraine, to see the people, to see how they live and what they want. If they want to go to Moscow, they should first come to Kyiv,” Zelenskyy said.
The president added that seeing the situation in Ukraine firsthand would help the American side better understand the course of the war and the prospects for ending it.
