Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope that the US-mediated peace talks to be held next week in Geneva will be serious and substantive, while simultaneously voicing concern that Ukraine is being called upon “too often” to make concessions. “We sincerely hope our trilateral meetings next week will be serious, substantive, and help all of us, but honestly sometimes there’s a feeling that the two sides are talking about completely different things,” Zelensky stated during his speech at the Munich Security Conference.
“Americans often return to the issue of concessions, and very often these concessions are discussed only regarding Ukraine, not Russia,” he commented. He said he feels “a degree” of pressure following US President Donald Trump’s call to proceed with peace negotiations, but emphasized the importance of having concessions from Russia as well.
Today in Munich, Germany. An important day, and there will be new steps toward our shared security – that of Ukraine and Europe. On the agenda is the first joint Ukrainian-German drone production enterprise, as well as bilateral and multilateral meetings with partners.
We need… pic.twitter.com/nFLqSCSV0P
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 13, 2026
Zelensky against Putin: “He is a slave to war”
“Give us two months of ceasefire and we’ll hold elections. Give us a ceasefire. President Trump can do it: pressure Putin to make a ceasefire. Then our parliament will amend the law and we’ll go to elections,” Zelensky said in response to American calls for immediate elections.
During his speech, Zelensky characterized Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “slave to war.”
Vladimir Putin “cannot convince himself to abandon the very idea of war. He may think he’s a tsar, but in reality he’s a slave to war,” Zelensky argued. President Zelensky expressed regret over the slow pace of political decisions required to counter Russian attacks against Ukraine.
“In this war, weapons evolve faster than the decisions that should stop them,” Zelensky declared in his speech, emphasizing that Iranian-made Shahed drones used by Moscow are becoming increasingly deadly as the conflict continues into its fifth year.
Source: ERT
