Zelensky says Donbas concession would buy a pause, not peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said abandoning the Donbas would not end the war, only postpone it. In an interview with Danish broadcaster DR Nyheder, excerpts of which he published on Telegram, Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin would pause and return "in a year, two years, or five years."

Zelensky pointed to Russia's full-scale invasion as evidence that Moscow's stated aims cannot be taken at face value. Putin spoke about the Donbas, Zelensky said, but ordered an advance on Kyiv. He also cited killings and torture of civilians in Bucha and other occupied areas.

His warning lands against a mixed picture. Putin said after Victory Day events in Moscow that he was ready for direct talks with Zelensky in Moscow or a neutral country, and that he thought the war was coming to an end. Russia and Ukraine observed a short three-day US-backed ceasefire and continued prisoner-swap discussions.

A fourth round of 2026 peace talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States was set for Abu Dhabi, with security guarantees for Ukraine high on the agenda. Analysts were not hopeful. One argument is that Putin remains determined to win rather than compromise, and that security guarantees for Ukraine are a mirage.

On the ground, Russian forces continued missile and drone strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Kyiv City was targeted with 36 ballistic missiles overnight on November 6 to 7, according to Zelensky.

The gap between diplomatic signals and battlefield reality is the central problem. If Zelensky is right that a concession only delays a renewed attack, then security guarantees become the test of any settlement. Talks that leave them unresolved may not end the war so much as postpone it.

What security guarantees are actually on the table in Abu Dhabi is not yet known. Whether Putin's offer of direct talks materialises, and where, is also unresolved. Russia's continued strike campaign raises the question of whether the ceasefire and talks can hold.