At a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy adopted a significantly different tone when discussing the initial US-brokered peace negotiations. The level of irritation displayed after his contentious trip to the White House, where he famously engaged in a shouting match with Donald Trump, has been replaced with an optimism that seems politically motivated.

Though Zelenskyy complained about comments made by Steve Witcoff, Donald Trump’s special envoy, stating that four Ukrainian regions occupied by Russia wished to be under Moscow’s rule, he argued that this narrative had advantages too. He suggested that over time, the White House would recognize the Kremlin’s lack of good faith, as Russia continues to raise objections, thus eroding trust in Moscow with each passing day.

Despite signing Ukraine up to an energy and maritime ceasefire proposed by the US, Zelenskyy acknowledged that there were Russian reservations. Shortly after, the Kremlin tied its participation in a maritime ceasefire to agricultural sanctions relief, and reports suggested that the energy ceasefire wasn’t entirely being observed either.

Keir Giles, a Russia expert at the Chatham House thinktank, commented, “Zelenskyy has assessed that it is better to go along with what is being cooked, rather than to attempt to inject reality into the process, because he has seen what happens if he does the latter.”

When Zelenskyy stated last month that a peace deal was “still very, very far away,” the White House used that as a pretext to halt military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine. It wasn’t until Ukraine committed to a full ceasefire in Saudi Arabia a week or so later that aid was restarted — an agreement that Russia has yet to reciprocate.

The challenge for Zelenskyy is, if Russia breaches the ceasefire or a disparity arises in the Black Sea, it’s uncertain how long Ukraine will maintain its restraint. Ukraine’s defense minister warned Russia against using the ceasefire as cover for naval maneuvers, and there’s doubt that the White House will increase pressure on the Kremlin unless the negotiations show significant progress. Moreover, the US has made concessions like ruling out Ukraine’s NATO membership while Trump appears more willing to speak with Putin than with Zelenskyy.

Giles noted that Putin and his team will gauge how far they can press the US for concessions before it becomes “too embarrassing” even for Trump, who lacks a sense of shame or humiliation. The discussions between the US and Russia about Ukrainian territory in Saudi Arabia yielded no concrete results, and Zelenskyy’s newfound patience faces the likelihood of being tested again in the days to come.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/27/zelenskyy-employs-strategic-optimism-to-highlight-russias-abundant-bad-faith