Dear Ukrainians! Dear Ukrainian women and men!

In just a few minutes, the new year will begin. And I would give anything in the world if, in this address, I could say that peace will also come in just a few minutes. Unfortunately, I cannot say that yet.

But with a clear conscience, I—all of us—can say that Ukraine is truly doing everything for peace. And continues to do so.

I returned to Kyiv yesterday, at 6 a.m. Our team spent nearly 50 hours on the road.

The peace agreement is 90 percent ready. Ten percent remains. And that is far more than just numbers. Those ten percent contain, in fact, everything. Those are the ten percent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live. Ten percent to save millions of lives.

Ten percent of the determination needed for peace to work one hundred percent. Ten percent of the unity and wisdom so desperately needed—Ukrainian, American, European, from the entire world. Ten percent to peace.

I want all of us to be on the same page right now—to understand reality in the same way, to be armed not only on the battlefield, but also with the truth.

Let us start with the most important thing. What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want the end of the war—but not the end of Ukraine.

Are we tired? Very. Does this mean we are ready to surrender? Anyone who thinks so is deeply mistaken.

We believe in peace, we fight for it, and we work for it. And we will continue to do so.

Because in 2026, we truly want that the skies be calm and the land peaceful; that warmth and light fill our homes—and not 170, but the full 220, as it should be; that all our people return home—from the front, from captivity, from occupation; that we stand; that Ukraine stands.

Withdraw from Donbas, and everything will be over. That is how deception sounds when translated from Russian—into Ukrainian, into English, into German, into French, and, in fact, into any language in the world.

Signatures under weak agreements only fuel war. My signature will be under a strong agreement.

We enter 2026 with faith in a peace that will be strong and lasting, so that Ukraine can recover and develop.

May every Ukrainian return home—from the front, from captivity, from occupation.

Happy New Year, Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine!