Zelenskyy opens door to battle line ‘freeze’ to end war with Russia
Russia’s release of retired American teacher Stephen Hubbard prompts reaction from Zelenskyy during an interview with Brian Kilmeade. The Ukrainian president details negotiations to end the war with Russia, the impact of the Starlink showdown and more during ‘Fox & Friends.’
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday that he is open to freezing the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia war in an effort to bring the long-running conflict to an end.
Zelenskyy made the remark after being asked by Brian Kilmeade if he would “accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75% or more of your country, regardless of how it started.”
“Yes, right now, we have to freeze,” Zelenskyy responded. “And I think this is [a] real way to end this war. We call it ceasefire or ‘stop killing’ like President Trump called it.
“Freeze and stop. And, of course, this is the minimum of what we need from Russia today. Then, of course, we will go to [the] president and to Europeans, and we’ll ask security guarantees,” he continued.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, in Oslo, Norway. (Cornelius Poppe/NTB Scanpix via AP)
“This is the most important … not to be afraid,” Zelenskyy also said. “We need 9.5 million people [who have] lost their houses, which are abroad, everywhere. We need them to come back to Ukraine just to live and to build their country.”
Russia has often rejected ceasefire deals with Ukraine, saying they would give Kyiv time to rearm themselves.
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Policemen walk in front of destroyed cars in the yard of a multi-story residential building damaged by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)
“There will be no ceasefire to bring him back to his senses and pump him full of weapons,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week, according to the Interfax news agency.
Zelenskyy said on X Wednesday that “Russia strikes our country virtually every hour.”
“Of course, we are not losing this war. But we are losing people. Because of the Russian attacks, we’re losing people and time. It’s such a pity, because our children don’t have a real life and childhood. Not only children, but all people,” he wrote in another post.
President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, holds a paper while speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, outside St. Petersburg, Russia, on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin via AP)
“That’s why we need to end this war as quickly as possible. I hope that our partners, Americans and Europeans, will help us. God bless, our strong soldiers stay strong on the battlefield. It helps me stay strong during any kind of negotiations,” Zelenskyy added.
The remarks come as President Donald Trump on Wednesday secured the release of Stephen Hubbard from Russia, a retired U.S. teacher who was locked up on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed Wednesday “in principle” to resume trilateral negotiations with the U.S. and Ukraine after Nov. 10, Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said, according to The Associated Press.
Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this post.
