KYIV - President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his New Year address to the nation, said late on Dec 31 that Ukraine wanted the war to end, but not at any cost, adding he would not sign a “weak” peace agreement that would only prolong the war.

Seated in his office, with a festive tree in the background, Mr Zelensky said Ukrainians were exhausted from nearly four years of war – longer than the German World War II occupation of many Ukrainian cities. But they were not prepared to give up.