Ukraine prepares for diplomacy and continued defense
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 4 that Ukraine is preparing for both a possible peace deal and the need to keep defending itself against Russia’s full‑scale invasion, declaring Kyiv ready for “both options.”
Ukraine and its allies are working on a U.S.‑brokered draft peace plan; European national security advisers met in Kyiv on Jan. 3 and further diplomacy, including meetings in Europe, is planned. Zelensky said the country will pursue talks but also prepare for “further active defense” if international pressure on Russia proves insufficient.
A week earlier Zelensky met with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar‑a‑Lago to discuss security guarantees and a 20‑point plan to end the war; an earlier 28‑point proposal had been seen as pressuring Kyiv toward concessions. The talks produced no breakthrough.
The Kremlin has shown little interest in compromise and has stepped up propaganda aimed at undermining the U.S.‑led negotiations. Moscow alleged a Ukrainian drone attack on President Vladimir Putin’s residence on Dec. 29, a claim denied by Ukraine and the U.S. CIA. Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service warned on Jan. 2 that Russia may be planning “a large‑scale provocation with human casualties” to disrupt the peace process.
Zelensky’s remarks follow major government changes: he appointed former military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov to head the Presidential Office and named Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov as the new defense minister.
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