Zelenskyy on media reports: Talks about Crimea, Zaporizhzhia NPP, and NATO are speculations

Unconditional ceasefire as a key condition

"I believe that there are problems with this concept as a whole. The fact that we don't have a positive outcome regarding the ceasefire and are moving on, not having read the first page of the book, and trying to read the book from the middle, and understand its meaning. But you won’t understand," he said.

According to the president, "Ukraine wants a quick and just peace for itself, but also an unconditional ceasefire as the first step towards this."

The president emphasized that if the fire is not stopped, Russia will be able to pressure Ukraine on other terms, "If we don't want to play this Minsk-3,4,5 and a copy of the Normandy format, but with a different number of casualties, then we must look at this war like a pie and divide this big problem into pieces if we really want to resolve something."

Zelenskyy stated that as soon as Ukraine begins to talk about Crimea and other sovereign territories, Russia tries to prolong the war.

"It won’t be possible to reach an agreement on everything quickly. We've been at war for 12 years. This is already the answer to whether we can negotiate with Russia at all. It’s a rhetorical question. Can we negotiate with Russia quickly? No. Without pressure, it's impossible," he said.

Pressure from the international community on Russia

The president noted that the pressure should come from the entire world, but "first and foremost from America." He also mentioned that Ukraine supported US President Donald Trump’s proposal regarding an unconditional ceasefire.

"Trump suggested it, we supported it, regarding the unconditional ceasefire. But discussing everything in one day will not work; it will be a long dialogue. Why? To put pressure on us, for America to get tired and withdraw from the process, there are many reasons. This is Putin’s game, definitely not Trump’s game, not Europe’s game, and Ukraine is not playing along with this," Zelenskyy said.

Regarding information about various initiatives in the media, Zelenskyy said, "These are proposals, signals, ideas, visions. But this is not an official proposal to Ukraine. If there is an official proposal, we will immediately react to it as an official proposal, and you will know about it."

Zelenskyy noted that he does not know who is sending such "signals" and visions to the media. It could be either Russians or Americans.

The president added that the Ukrainian team has a mandate to discuss an unconditional or partial ceasefire during tomorrow’s meeting in London.

"We are ready for this stage. We are also ready to affirm that after the ceasefire, we are ready to sit down in any format, so that there is no deadlock. Because we will believe that we have at least some result. That Russia is indeed ready for real steps, that these are serious steps, not infantile ones," he stated.

Ukraine's position on Crimea and NATO

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine does not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea and maintains its position on NATO membership. He pointed out that Russia is outside NATO and cannot veto Ukraine's membership in the Alliance. Moreover, Russia cannot speak about security guarantees for Ukraine, as it violates them.

"Is there a dialogue between the US and Russia regarding Ukraine in NATO? I’m sure there is. If they want to fix that Ukraine refuses NATO, I have a question: what will replace it? What security guarantees?" he said.

Zelenskyy believes that if Ukraine refuses NATO, the United States must provide equivalent security guarantees.

"If we refuse NATO, what is Russia refusing? Is it logical? They (the Russians - ed.) said they went into Ukraine to protect the security of their state because NATO is approaching. If NATO is not approaching, what will Russia offer?" the president said.

Issue of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP)

Zelenskyy also commented on the issue of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"It is not functioning by itself and will not function without Ukraine, and, with all due respect, the US will not be enough. We need our technical staff. America understands that if a management format is introduced, it will only work with our technical workers. We are immediately raising the issue – access to water, infrastructure, and the safety of people," he said.

He noted that, regarding the ZNPP, Ukraine is not opposed to partnership with the United States.

Rumors about Crimea, NATO, and the ZNPP

Recently, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the US might consider recognizing the annexation of Crimea. According to the media, a potential concession from Washington is seen as the "final signal" that US President Donald Trump seeks to solidify a ceasefire agreement.

At the same time, today, The Washington Post reported that the US has prepared its vision for a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia ahead of tomorrow’s talks in London. In particular, it was suggested that this could involve recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The same outlet mentioned that the US is expecting a response from Kyiv on ideas for ending the war, including a possible refusal to join NATO and the potential recognition of Crimea as Russian by the US.

US President Donald Trump himself expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia would reach an agreement this week. He did not specify which agreement, but it most likely referred to a peace deal.

Moreover, recently, the WSJ reported that the US is considering the idea of a neutral zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko stated that Ukraine is interested in jointly controlling the ZNPP with the US.

Interestingly, Russia recently declared that it considers the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant a Russian nuclear facility and, therefore, will not transfer it to any other state.