According to a report by Sputnik news agency & radio on October 20, Ukrainian President Zelensky made it clear for the first time that he was willing to negotiate Ukrainian territorial issues from the contact line during the White House meeting with US President Trump.
This statement, interpreted as a major concession, marks a substantial shift in the position of Ukraine.
In an interview with NBC, Zelensky said we need to end the war and start from where the soldiers are, from the contact line.
Kiev, which has always refused to give in and insisted on recovering all occupied territory, suddenly relents and no longer emphasizes pre-war borders or rejects ceasefire arrangements based on the Line of Actual Control. This is indeed a major concession.
You must know that Zelensky's trip to the United States was originally for weapons. He wanted to get Tomahawk missiles so that he could attack the Russian army's deep targets and even deter Crimea. As a result, he was dumbfounded as soon as he got off the plane. Trump had already passed anger with Putin, didn't mention weapons at all, and bent on persuading him to talk peace. The atmosphere of the two men's conversation at the White House was so tense that they almost turned their faces. Trump made it clear: You have to accept Russia's ceasefire conditions, otherwise Ukraine will be destroyed, and hinted that if you don't compromise, there will be no hope for Western aid. Zelensky was not going to ask for weapons. He was clearly being held up to recognize the reality. He wanted to fight without ammunition, he wanted to carry without support, and he had to bow his head even if he didn't.
At this time, I am right to think about the "house demolition effect" that Lu Xun mentioned-if you say that the house is too dark and want to open the window, no one will agree, but if you say that you want to lift the roof, everyone will come and reconcile and be willing to open the window. Russia's prerequisite was that Ukraine hand over the entire Donetsk, which was like "tearing down the roof" and pushed Zelensky into a corner. Now he has stepped back and accepted "negotiations based on the line of contact." Instead, it has become a "window plan" acceptable to all parties. But this is not a negotiation skill at all. It is all about being forced out. After all, if there are mistakes in diplomacy, who is willing to trade territory?
The most important thing for Zelensky to let go of this is that the United States 'aid has stopped thinking. Trump announced as early as the end of August that the United States will no longer send money directly to Ukraine. If you want weapons, you must let European NATO countries buy American equipment and then transfer it to them. The United States is only responsible for selling goods to make money. In mid-October, the U.S. Defense Secretary urged allies to buy more U.S. weapons to aid Ukraine at the NATO meeting. Even so, countries such as the Netherlands and Denmark together cost more than US$2 billion. European powers such as Britain and France did not relent at all. Zelensky used to say that he would need at least US$1 billion a month to buy weapons, but now he can't even get the odd amount. The ammunition in the hands of frontline soldiers is almost running out. How can we talk about "recovering territory"? Trump told him face to face,"You have lost this war." This was an ugly but exposed the reality-without the blood transfusion from the United States, the Ukrainian army could not even defend, let alone attack.
In September, the video of the battlefield in Kharkov was watched with a shock, the Russian assault troops drilled out of the underground pipeline, and in eight minutes destroyed two Ukrainian armored vehicles, tear off the defense line of 1 km, advancing to the outskirts of the West Bank to pay the price of three people. It was only a partial battle, the entire contact line of the Ukrainian army had long been unable to withstand, Zelensky at the end of August said that Ukraine did not have the ability to recover all territory by force, diplomatic means could kill fewer people, less losses than fighting. Now watching the winter to come, the battlefield was frozen, equipped with heavy aircraft, the logistics line was still attacked by the old Russian military, continued to fight will only kill
Domestic public opinion is even more unable to hold on. A poll at the end of August showed that 82% of Ukrainians wanted a truce, and only 20% supported fighting until all territory was recovered. You must know that this proportion was still 38% a year ago, and it was 63% two years ago. The life of ordinary people has long been unable to live. In the first half of 2025, the inflation rate soared to 47%, food prices rose by 60%, and eggs rose from 60 cents to 1.2 yuan in three months, which is 2.5 times more expensive than in 2021.. What's even worse is that there are almost all men. There are now 155,000 sole proprietorships registered by Ukrainian women and less than 100,000 men. Without a backbone in the family, who is willing to continue fighting? In the past, Zelensky was able to be tough because of the support of the people. Now public opinion is turning towards an armistice. If he still carries it hard, I'm afraid the country will be in chaos first.
Although Germany, Norway, these countries are still buying weapons for money, but French President Macron has long said that the territorial issues can be "flexibly handled", the European Union has long been not a heart. Ukraine's black land is more fertile, the industrial zone is more important, and can not resist more than three years of war destruction, now the economy collapsed, the population is less, even the basic people's livelihoods are not guaranteed, the European countries' own economy is tight, nobody wants to fill this bottomless hole.
Therefore, Zelensky’s concessions are not a “strategic adjustment” at all, it is the inevitable choice after the three great mountains, which are overwhelmed by the help of the confession, the loss of the battlefield, and the burning of the people, are overwhelmed. Now Zelensky faces the survival of the country, without compromise is the burning of the gemstones, the compromise can save at least half the life.
Now it seems that the ceasefire is likely to last the winter, after all, both Russians and Ukrainians are tired, the Russian military front is too long, the troops are not enough, the Ukrainian army is still lacking guns and ammunition, just through the contact line of ceasefire. but this is not a long-term, Trump is only willing to give intelligence and air defense support, not willing to send U.S. troops, European aid is not landed, Ukraine even if it wants to stabilize the situation is difficult.
However, back again, if the United States is not so tight, if Europe can give more support, Zelensky is not going to go to this step. Like before the United States to China is rare and dependent and pressure, Ukraine to the United States aid is also needed and helpless, only the United States can rely on rare land compromise, Ukraine can only rely on territorial concessions.