Peace will not be given to us as a gift but we will do everything to stop Russia
On the first night of 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood before a nation entering its fourth year of war and offered not a promise of victory, but a covenant of perseverance. Against a backdrop of accelerating territorial losses and deepening uncertainty over American support, he declared that peace would not arrive as a gift — it would have to be earned. His words belong to a long tradition of leaders who must speak hope into existence precisely when the facts on the ground offer the least of it.
- Russia seized nearly 4,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in 2024 — seven times its gains from the year before — with October and November marking the largest monthly advances since the war's opening weeks.
- Zelenskyy's New Year address carried a quiet desperation beneath its resolve: Ukraine's military lifeline runs through Washington, and the incoming Trump administration has signaled skepticism about the scale of continued support.
- On January 1st, Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukrainian pipelines into Europe for the first time in years, severing a revenue stream for Moscow but also surrendering income Ukraine can scarcely afford to lose.
- Ukraine enters 2025 outgunned, outmanned, and increasingly outpaced on the battlefield, yet its president is publicly betting that American self-interest and international pressure will hold the alliance together long enough to matter.
As midnight arrived in Kyiv on New Year's Eve — day 1,043 of Russia's invasion — President Zelenskyy addressed his nation with words forged not in optimism but in exhaustion. "May 2025 be our year," he said, acknowledging that peace would not come as a gift, but would have to be fought for.
The ground truth behind those words is unsparing. Russia captured nearly 4,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in 2024, seven times what it took the year before. The autumn months were particularly brutal — October and November saw the largest Russian monthly advances since the war's earliest days. December brought a modest slowdown, but the direction of travel remained unmistakable.
Zelenskyy was careful in how he spoke about America. He expressed faith that Donald Trump, soon to take office, would want to end what he called Putin's aggression — a measured appeal to a leader whose commitment to Ukraine's cause remains an open question. US military aid has been the backbone of Ukraine's resistance, and its future scale is now uncertain.
The same day Zelenskyy spoke, Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukrainian pipelines into Europe, ending a transit arrangement that had persisted even through years of war. Zelenskyy had refused to renew the deal. It was a symbolic severance — cutting Moscow off from Ukrainian infrastructure — but it also cost Kyiv a revenue source it could not easily replace.
Four thousand square kilometers of lost land is not an abstraction. It is towns, farms, displaced families, and compressed defensive lines. Ukraine enters the new year weakened, outresourced, and dependent on a superpower whose resolve is no longer guaranteed. Zelenskyy's vow is a statement of will — but will alone has never been enough to stop an army.
As midnight approached in Kyiv on New Year's Eve, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood before his nation and made a simple declaration: "May 2025 be our year." It was day 1,043 of Russia's invasion, and the Ukrainian leader was offering not optimism born of advantage, but resolve forged in exhaustion. "We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift," he said, "but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war."
The weight of those words sits heavy against the facts on the ground. Russia has spent nearly three years grinding through Ukrainian territory with superior resources and manpower, and the pace of that grinding accelerated sharply through 2024. According to analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War, Moscow captured nearly 4,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian land last year—seven times the territory it took in 2023. The momentum was not steady. October and November saw the Russians seize 610 and 725 square kilometers respectively, the largest monthly gains since the opening weeks of the war in March 2022. December brought a slowdown, with Russian forces advancing 465 square kilometers in the first month of winter, but the trajectory remained unmistakable: Ukraine was losing ground faster than at any point since the initial shock of the invasion.
Zelenskyy's New Year address was careful in its diplomacy. He spoke of conversations with outgoing President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump, and of his belief that the incoming American administration would want to broker peace and end what he called Putin's aggression. "I have no doubt that the new American president wants and will be able to bring peace," he said. The phrasing was measured—not a demand, but an expression of faith. Yet it also reflected a deeper anxiety. Ukraine's military aid has flowed largely from Washington, and Trump's stated skepticism about the scale of American support for Kyiv has cast uncertainty over what 2025 will bring.
On the same day Zelenskyy made his address, another symbolic break occurred. Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukrainian pipelines into Europe for the first time in years. A five-year transit agreement signed in 2019 had allowed Moscow to pipe fuel westward across Ukrainian territory, generating revenue for Kyiv even as the two nations fought. Zelenskyy had ruled out renewing the deal, and as of January 1, 2025, the pipelines went silent. Data from Ukraine's gas operator showed deliveries dropping to zero at the only entry point for Russian gas into the country. It was a small victory in a war of attrition—cutting off Moscow's ability to profit from Ukrainian infrastructure—but it also meant Ukraine was surrendering a source of income it could ill afford to lose.
The numbers tell the story of a country under siege. Four thousand square kilometers is not an abstraction. It represents towns and villages, farmland and forests, homes and lives. It represents the displacement of civilians, the repositioning of military units, the slow compression of Ukrainian-held territory. And it comes as Zelenskyy must navigate not just the Russian army but the uncertainty of American politics. Trump takes office in weeks. The nature and scale of future military aid remains unclear. Ukraine enters 2025 weakened by three years of war, outmatched in resources, and dependent on a superpower whose commitment to the fight is no longer assured. Zelenskyy's vow—that Ukraine will do everything to stop Russia—is a statement of intention, not a guarantee of outcome.
Notable Quotes
We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war.— President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, New Year's address to Ukraine
I have no doubt that the new American president wants and will be able to bring peace and end Putin's aggression.— President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Donald Trump
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Zelenskyy says peace won't be "given" to Ukraine, what does he mean by that?
He's drawing a distinction between negotiating from strength and negotiating from desperation. If Ukraine waits for Russia to tire or for the West to pressure Moscow into talks, it's negotiating from weakness. He's saying Ukraine has to fight its way to the table.
But the territorial losses in 2024 were massive—seven times worse than 2023. How does that square with his confidence?
It doesn't, really. That's the tension. He has to project resolve for his own people and for allies, but the military math is brutal. Russia is advancing faster, not slower. The hope is that Trump can broker something, but that's a hope, not a plan.
Why did Ukraine stop the Russian gas transit on January 1st specifically?
The contract was expiring. Zelenskyy chose not to renew it. It's leverage—cutting off Moscow's revenue—but it also means Ukraine loses the transit fees it was collecting. It's a sacrifice play, a way of saying we're not going to profit from this relationship anymore.
Is there any scenario where 2025 actually becomes "their year"?
Only if the military situation stabilizes and Trump genuinely pushes for negotiations that don't require Ukraine to surrender territory. Right now, Russia has momentum. For 2025 to be Ukraine's year, that momentum has to stop. The question is whether American support can make that happen.
What does Zelenskyy actually expect from Trump?
He's being diplomatic, but he's also hedging. He said Trump "wants and will be able" to bring peace—that's careful language. He's hoping Trump sees ending the war as a win, but he also knows Trump might pressure Ukraine to accept unfavorable terms. It's a gamble.