At the heart of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s latest diplomatic push is a single, clear strategic objective: “Russia must be deprived of the means to continue its war and terror.” He argues that this, and not just dialogue, is the “most reliable foundation for peace” in the region, a goal he believes the West has the power to help him achieve.
This statement represents a fundamental tenet of Zelensky’s worldview. He believes that negotiations with an undiminished aggressor are an exercise in futility. True peace, in his view, can only be built when the capacity for large-scale violence has been systematically dismantled from the aggressor’s side.
This is why his appeals for a new peace process, inspired by the Gaza deal, are always accompanied by a specific shopping list of military hardware. Systems like the Patriot and NASAMS are, in his strategy, the primary tools for “depriving Russia of its means.” They are instruments of peacemaking through disarmament by force.
He points to the Gaza success as an example of what is possible when a clear objective is pursued with decisive leadership. While the methods may differ, he sees the same level of American focus and resolve as essential to executing his strategy of militarily constraining Russia to the point where “genuine negotiations” become its only rational choice.
Every Russian drone launched and every bomb dropped on a Ukrainian city serves as another piece of evidence for his case. Zelensky is arguing that the means of terror must be eliminated before the foundations of peace can ever be laid.