Zelenskyy outlines Ukraine’s 'red lines' ahead of possible war-ending talks with Russia

He made this statement during a working visit to the Chernihiv region.

“For us, the priority is our strong army. Therefore, this is a ‘red line’ for us — no drastic reduction in the size of our army. Honestly, we will do everything to maintain the current size of our army. It’s a large army, three times bigger than it was at the beginning of the war. An army that can only be modernized. That’s the kind of changes that might take place after the war ends,” the president said.

Another “red line” that Ukraine will not cross is recognizing the occupied territories as Russian.

“Other geopolitical issues include the non-recognition of any territories occupied by Russia as ‘Russian.’ These are Ukrainian territories — this is one of the most important ‘red lines’ for us. In any case, these are temporarily occupied territories,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

He also stated that a just peace includes the return of all Ukrainian territories under Ukraine’s control.

“But if it’s possible to find a compromise so that the return of these territories happens over time through diplomatic means… I think, perhaps, for some territories, that will be the only way,” Zelenskyy suggested.

He added that Ukraine will work on holding war criminals accountable.

• On March 25, another round of talks between Ukrainian and American delegations took place in Riyadh. The parties agreed to a 30-day partial ceasefire. Kyiv, Washington, and Moscow agreed to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea. Russia also committed to halting attacks on energy infrastructure.
• However, Russia has repeatedly violated the terms of the 30-day partial ceasefire. For example, on April 1, Russian forces struck an energy facility in Kherson, again breaching the agreement with the U.S.
• On April 1, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated that Russia does not share U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to ending the war in Ukraine.
• The following day, President Zelenskyy expressed confidence that pressure on Russia would eventually force it to cease fire.