On Christmas Eve, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t hold back in a video posted on X.
He didn’t mention Vladimir Putin by name, but his message was clear. “Despite all the suffering that Russia has brought, it can’t occupy or bomb what matters most. That’s our Ukrainian heart, our faith in each other, and our unity,” Zelensky said. Then he added, “Today, we all share one dream. And we all have one wish: ‘May he perish,’ as everyone says to themselves.”
Zelensky’s Christmas Message Sends Strong Signal to Moscow
He shifted his focus to peace, saying, “But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something bigger. We ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it, we pray for it, we deserve it.”
This wasn’t just any holiday message. Russia had just launched another missile and drone attack, killing at least three people and knocking out power yet again.
“May he perish.”
President Zelensky on Putin in his annual Christmas address.
pic.twitter.com/C1o5J8bZpA— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) December 24, 2025
Zelensky Proposes Demilitarised Donbas as Part of 20-Point Peace Plan
Zelensky didn’t mince words in his address. “On the eve of Christmas, the Russians showed their true colors. Massive shelling, hundreds of Shaheds, ballistic missiles, Kinzhal strikes, they used everything. This is how the godless strike.”
During a briefing, Zelensky also laid out a 20-point plan for ending the war. As part of it, he said Kyiv is willing to withdraw troops from eastern Ukraine’s industrial region, a big move if Moscow pulls back too and the area becomes a demilitarised zone, watched over by international forces.
That’s the clearest sign yet that Zelensky is open to compromise over the Donbas, the region at the heart of the conflict.
He mentioned the same idea could apply around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia currently controls. But Zelensky insisted that any peace plan would need to be put to a national vote.
So far, Russia hasn’t shown any sign that it’s ready to give up the territory it’s taken. Right now, Russian forces hold most of Luhansk and about 70 percent of Donetsk, together, that’s the Donbas, a region Putin demands Ukraine surrender. Zelensky’s not backing down.
Meanwhile, American negotiators have held separate talks with both Ukraine and Russia since former President Donald Trump floated a new peace proposal last month.
The plan mostly favors Moscow, the country that invaded Ukraine almost four years ago. Since then, Kyiv and its European allies have worked hard to push the plan closer to Ukraine’s side.
