Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky has changed his rhetoric. In a new interview with the Japanese news agency Kyodo News, he says that there are areas that Ukraine cannot win back militarily.

– Our army lacks the strength to do that. It’s true. It’s true, he said to Kyodo News.

Zelensky said in the interview on Sunday that his country is seeking an early end to the war with Russia and will try to get Moscow to give back parts of Ukraine’s territory through diplomacy after Kiev’s NATO membership is secured.

Recently, Zelensky has increasingly spoken of a diplomatic end to the war, and that it will be impossible to throw Russia out. Ukraine’s back is against the wall, its troops are exhausted and large numbers of soldiers are deserting.

It’s difficult to replace soldiers with new recruits, and the US has said Ukraine must start recruiting everyone over the age of 18. But a growing number of Ukrainians just want an end to the war, which has led to heavy Ukrainian casualties in the form of deaths and serious injuries.

He answered all questions in Ukrainian, openly admitting that it is difficult to retake any of the Russian-occupied parts of the country by force, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

–  Our army lacks the strength to do that. That’s true, he said.

– We need to find diplomatic solutions.

NATO membership is indispensable for Ukraine’s security and prosperity, said Zelensky, who emphasised that the war has entered a “complicated period”.

The interview, which lasted about an hour, was given at a time when the war in Ukraine has reached a critical point and questions have also arisen about whether US support for Ukraine will continue after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had become president, and said during the presidential election campaign that he could stop the war in one day if elected, without specifying how.

Zelensky said Trump and his team know Ukraine’s position and their “victory plan”, which aims to put the country in a “strong position” so that diplomacy can take place.

– They are studying the plan and we are going to hear from them. But there will be no capitulation on the part of Ukraine, he said.

– That’s a fact, and I think he understands that.

Zelensky met with Trump in September and is preparing for a new reality when it comes to US arms support.