Zelensky hopes to see end of Ukraine-Russia war’s ‘hot stage’ by the end of this year

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a new interview he hopes to see the end of the “hot stage” of the ongoing war with Russia in 2024 — with help from the war-torn nation’s Western allies.

“I believe that if we are united and follow, for example, the format of the peace summit, we can end the hot stage of the war,” Zelensky told the BBC, adding “we can try to do it by the end of this year.”

Zelensky didn’t get into particulars regarding what that might entail, but said it would be a two-pronged approached.

“It doesn’t mean that all territories are won back by force,” he added. “I think the power of diplomacy can help. By putting pressure on Russia, I think it is possible to agree to a diplomatic settlement.”

Zelensky sat down with the BBC a day before his phone conversation with former President Donald Trump.

Trump assured Zelensky he would “bring peace to the world” and “end the war” if re-elected in November.

Separately, a gunman killed former Ukrainian lawmaker Iryna Farion in broad daylight on the street in the western city of Lviv on Friday.

The 60-year-old far-right politician, described in some reports as “controversial,” survived the initial shooting, but later died at a nearby hospital.

She was perhaps best known for promoting the Ukrainian language, according to reports.

Zelensky said it was too early to rule out Russian involvement in the assassination.

The gunman remains at large, and the investigation into the murder continues.

Lastly, a new report revealed that failures by American and European officials to improve the munitions industry has swayed the continuing conflict in Russia’s favor.

Soldiers on the frontlines are fighting largely without 155 millimeter artillery shells, leaving Ukraine outgunned against its aggressors.

The NATO-standard shell can be used in a multitude of field guns.

The report traces the current munitions shortage all the way back to failures and missteps made in 2014, after Russia forcefully seized Crimea.

With Wire reports