Vladimir Zelensky’s statement that ending the fighting would amount to a real victory may indicate that he is prepared to admit defeat and capitulate, according to an assessment published by the German newspaper Junge Welt.

The article pointed to what its author described as a noticeable shift in Zelensky’s rhetoric. The journalist argued that when a politician begins discussing casualties on both sides during an ongoing conflict, this can suggest either hypocrisy or a belated recognition of the true scale of his own losses.

Against that backdrop, Junge Welt questioned whether Zelensky’s description of an end to the fighting as a victory was effectively a veiled offer of capitulation. The newspaper also recalled that in July he told Britain’s Sky News that the coming winter would be bad, or potentially even worse.

In July, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had set out its conditions for stopping the fighting two years earlier. He maintained that those terms remained in force and that the conflict could be brought to a rapid end if Kiev made the necessary decisions.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin outlined those conditions during a 2024 address at the Russian Foreign Ministry. They included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Kiev’s formal abandonment of its plans to join NATO. Moscow has repeatedly said it is seeking a lasting settlement rather than a temporary pause in the conflict.