Selenskyj’s Message from Geneva - and the Attempt to Save a Peace That Is Already Under Fire

The Ukrainian delegation has returned from Geneva, and what President Zelensky is now making public shows more clearly than any government spokesperson in Washington how fragile these talks are and how much pressure Kyiv is under. The 28-point plan no longer exists in this form. Fewer points, new formulations, some concessions to Ukraine, some that remain in the room like a shadow. Zelensky emphasizes that the list of necessary steps is now “feasible”. But behind that sentence lies a conflict that could only be patched over with difficulty in Geneva: Ukraine is sitting at a table that others had long since set.

Zelensky describes a negotiating day that consisted almost entirely of meetings, concentrated, exhausting, without any break. The fact that he explicitly praises the American side for its “constructive behavior” says at least as much as it conceals. Ukraine knows very well how limited Washington’s patience has become and how openly the Trump administration formulates its expectations. It is no longer a secret that the United States wants to reach a result more quickly than would be safe for Ukraine. And Zelensky knows that not every conversation with European partners brings the support he needs.

His message to Trump is clear: he will discuss the sensitive points personally. It is an attempt to regain control in a process in which Ukraine constantly feels it must justify itself – for not surrendering, not giving in, not stopping the fight. “Ukraine will never be an obstacle to peace,” Zelensky says. This is not a sentence meant for the public. It is a sentence addressed to Washington, because the accusation hangs in the air there that Ukraine is the one blocking.

At the same time, Zelensky openly names what many diplomats admit only behind closed doors: Russia is trying to sabotage every phase of these negotiations. Not with tanks this time, but with information campaigns, intimidation, and the targeted claim that Ukraine does not want peace. The danger is real, because Moscow is playing for time – and for exhaustion. For Zelensky, this moment is not only about territory or phrasing. It is about dispelling the impression that Ukraine is a disruptive factor. It is about making visible that his country has spent almost three years trying to defend its statehood against an aggressor who uses every diplomatic space to push through its own positions. Ukraine is now fighting on two fronts: the military one – and the one where words, half-sentences, and diplomatic nuances are as dangerous as rockets.

Zelensky thanks the countries that continue to stand by Ukraine. But the subtext is unmistakable: the time of broad international unity is over. Europe is divided, the United States is unpredictable, Russia sees the West’s hesitation as an invitation. The fact that Zelensky uses this moment to remind the world of his country’s dignity and of the simple sentence that peace does not arise from coercion shows how difficult the situation has become.

The president is not sugarcoating anything. He is speaking because he knows how many interests are pushing into these talks – and how often Ukraine is the weakest actor in this tangle. His words make clear: Kyiv will continue negotiating, but it will not kneel. And that is exactly the point at which it will be decided in the coming days whether this peace process has a chance – or whether it will become the stage for the next power play.