Ukraine Will Not Agree to Frozen Conflict; says Top Zelensky Aide
Ukraine Rejects Frozen Conflict, Pushes for Full Peace With U.S. Backing .
Ukraine will not settle for a frozen conflict with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, declared Thursday, hours after Kyiv and Washington jointly floated a 30-day ceasefire to halt the war.
The proposal, forged in talks in Jeddah, marks a united front against Moscow’s long-standing tactic of stalling resolution, a pattern Ukraine traces back to Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and proxy war in the east.
“We said very clearly that we will never agree to a frozen conflict,” Yermak said on Ukrainian television, echoing a stance shared with U.S. officials.
He described a frozen conflict—unresolved, simmering, and prone to flare-ups—as a trap Kyiv has accused Russia of setting for a decade. “The U.S. was also against a frozen conflict,” he added, signaling alignment with Washington on a push for a decisive endgame.
Yermak stressed that the ceasefire, if accepted, would pave the way for a broader peace process, with Europe guaranteed a seat at the table.
“We agreed with our American partners that representatives of Europe will definitely take part,” he said, framing the effort as a coalition endeavor. “The main thing is that Ukraine is not alone, Ukraine is with its partners.”
The remarks underscore Kyiv’s resolve to avoid a repeat of the stalemate that has festered since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea and fueled separatist fighting in Donbas.
With the U.S. and Europe poised to enforce any truce, Ukraine’s gambit hinges on turning a temporary pause into a lasting settlement—leaving little room for Moscow to freeze the fight on its terms.
