Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has already “started World War Three” and must be forced to step back through sustained military and economic pressure.

Speaking inside the heavily guarded government headquarters in Kyiv, Zelensky striked a defiant tone, insisting Ukraine will not accept what he described as abandonment of its people in exchange for a temporary ceasefire.

“I believe that Putin has already started it,” he says. “The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him.”

Russia currently controls around 20% of Ukrainian territory, including large parts of the eastern Donetsk region and areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south. Moscow demands further territorial concessions as part of ceasefire proposals a price Zelensky firmly rejects.

“I don’t look at it simply as land,” he says. “I see it as abandonment weakening our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our people who live there.”

Zelensky argued that any pause in fighting would only allow Moscow to regroup. “It would probably satisfy him for a while, he needs a pause,” he says, warning that Russia could rebuild its military strength within a few years and resume its advance.

Despite mounting pressure from some Western quarters, including remarks from US President Donald Trump urging Ukraine to “come to the table fast,” Zelensky maintained that Ukraine will not concede defeat.

Asked whether critics are right to argue that Ukraine cannot win without concessions, he responds: “Will we lose? Of course not, because we are fighting for Ukraine’s independence.”

For Zelensky, victory is not only about reclaiming land but preserving sovereignty and preventing wider global instability. “Stopping Putin today and preventing him from occupying Ukraine is a victory for the whole world,” he says. “Because Putin will not stop at Ukraine.”

While he reiterated Ukraine’s long-term goal of restoring its 1991 borders the year of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union he acknowledged that retaking occupied territory immediately would come at an enormous human cost. “What is land without people? Honestly, nothing.”

Zelensky also addressed strained relations with Washington following a tense White House meeting last year. While acknowledging that political leadership changes, he stresses that long-term US security guarantees must be anchored in Congress, not dependent on any single president.

“It is not only President Trump, we’re talking about America,” he says. “Presidents change, but institutions stay.”

On calls for Ukraine to hold elections despite martial law, Zelensky said he has not decided whether he would run again. Elections scheduled for 2024 were postponed following Russia’s full-scale invasion. He insisted credible security guarantees must come first.

The Ukrainian leader conceded that air defence remains his country’s most urgent need, particularly systems such as the US-made Patriot missile batteries, and expressed frustration that partners have not granted licences for Ukraine to manufacture them domestically.

As the interview ends, Zelensky shifted briefly into English and reflected on the uncertainty ahead. Asked whether the war could drag on for years, he described diplomacy and battlefield efforts as “parallel tracks,” insisting that one of them will ultimately bring success.

“For us, success is to stop Putin,” he says. (AriseNews TV)

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