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Ukraine's Zelenskyy says world faces choice "to be with Putin or with peace"

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President

20 February 2025 00:00 (UTC +04:00)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world should choose a peaceful future rather than one shaped by Russian President Vladimir Putin, APA reports citing CNN.

“The future is not with Putin, but with peace. And it is a choice for everyone in the world … to be with Putin or with peace. We should choose peace,” Zelenskyy said in an address Wednesday evening.

Zelenskyy did not directly respond to US President Donald Trump, who earlier said the Ukrainian leader was a “dictator.”

“I am counting on Ukrainian unity, on our Ukrainian bravery, on our relations with our partners, and on our European unity, and on the pragmatism of America — America, which needs success as much as we all do,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president said he was preparing to meet Keith Kellogg, the Trump administration’s Russia-Ukraine envoy, in Kyiv on Thursday.

As the war nears its third anniversary, Zelenskyy said he was confident that the war would end with a lasting peace that ensured “that Russia cannot come to Ukraine again, and that Ukrainians return from Russian captivity, and that Ukraine has a future. This is a normal desire of every nation.”