Four years of war: Zelenskyy urges US to ‘stay on our side’
'Today marks exactly four years since Vladimir Putin started his push to take Kyiv- and that says a great deal about our resistance'
Four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the anniversary to both rally Ukrainians at home and appeal directly to allies abroad, warning that the war’s outcome remains uncertain without continued Western support.
“Today marks exactly four years since Vladimir Putin started his three-day push to take Kyiv,” Zelenskyy said. “And that says a great deal about our resistance, about how Ukraine has fought all this time.”
“Behind those words stand millions of our people- immense courage, incredibly hard work, endurance,” Zelenskyy added, saying Ukraine had preserved its independence and statehood despite the scale of the assault.
“Putin has not achieved his goals. He has not broken Ukrainians; he has not won this war.”
In an interview with the Financial Times, Zelenskyy described the conflict as being at the “beginning of the end” of Europe’s biggest war since the second world war — but cautioned against mistaking negotiations for peace.
He warned that without firm Western security guarantees, Moscow would use any ceasefire to rebuild its military for another offensive. Zelenskyy also urged European leaders to move faster on Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, saying the bloc should set a clear accession date, ideally as early as 2027.
The Ukrainian president also rejected the idea, circulating among some Western officials, that Russia would end the war if Ukraine surrendered the eastern Donbas region.
“Honestly, I do not believe that this is all that Russia demands,” he said. “Our withdrawal from Donbas, and then the war will end. Russia is Russia- you cannot trust them.”
Addressing US President Donald Trump directly during a CNN interview, Zelenskyy urged Washington not to abandon Ukraine.
“I want the US president to stay on our side,” he said, stressing that America was “far too big and too important” to step away from the conflict.
“They have to stay with a democratic country which is fighting against one person,” Zelenskyy told CNN. “Because this person is a war. Putin is a war. It’s all about himself. It’s all about one person. And the country, all his country, is in the prison.”
Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022, with missile strikes and ground assaults across Ukraine. Initial Russian advances collapsed within weeks, forcing Moscow to refocus on eastern and southern regions. Since then, the war has evolved into a prolonged and costly conflict marked by shifting front lines, drone and missile attacks.