President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that Ukraine ‘does not have the strength to recover’ territory taken by Russian forces and that only diplomatic pressure on Moscow could now bring an end to the conflict. 

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and controls roughly 80 per cent of Donbas, a region that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

It also exerts some control in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Combined with Crimea, Moscow has laid claim to all five regions, with the most intense fighting against Ukrainian troops occurring at points across the territories.

Zelensky told French newspaper Le Parisien that despite Ukraine claiming the land, these areas are now controlled by the Russians ‘de facto’.

‘We do not have the strength to recover them,’ he conceded.

The Ukrainian president issued a decree in 2022 barring his country from holding peace talks with Moscow, but it appears his stance is gradually changing. 

When asked if Ukraine might get around the negotiating table with Russia, he did not rule out that possibility, but said diplomatic pressure from other nations was essential in making it happen.

‘It’s not about who sits across from you, it’s about the position you’re in when negotiating. 

‘I don’t believe we’re in a weak position, but we’re also not in a strong one.’

On Monday, the Russian president said his troops had the upper hand across the entire front line in Ukraine and were accelerating their advance.

‘Russian troops are firmly holding the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact,’ Putin told his military generals in a televised meeting.

He said Russia’s seizure of 189 Ukrainian settlements this year made 2024 a ‘landmark year in the achievement of the goals of the special military operation,’ using Moscow’s official language for its campaign.