The most important part of Zelenskyy’s nightly address this Wednesday, Aug. 6, was what he did not say.
What he did say was that “Russia now seems to be more inclined toward a ceasefire—the pressure is working,” as he reported on conversations with Trump and European leaders. He added: “We have proposed that in the near future, our representatives—from Ukraine and our partners, our national security advisors—hold talks to determine our position.” And he insisted that “Ukraine will definitely defend its independence.”
Unusually, Zelenskyy did not insist on the return by Russia of all of Ukraine’s territory in this speech, or make other strident demands. Rather, he seemed to indicate that the next step is a discussion to determine Ukraine’s position, for Kiev to formulate its terms for ending the war.
This is coherent not only with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s account yesterday, but it also falls into line with points that Russia’s chief negotiator at Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, has been saying all along.
