Zelensky Tells Fox News He Would Accept a 'Freeze' Along Current Front Lines: 'Freeze and Stop'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he would accept a deal that freezes the war along the current front lines, calling a halt to the fighting "the real way to end this war," in an interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends."

Co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Zelensky whether he would accept "a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75% or more of your country," according to Mediaite, which reported on the interview.

"Yes," Zelensky replied. "Right now, we have to freeze and I think this is [the] real way to end this war."

"We call it ceasefire or 'stop killing' as President Trump called it," he added. "Freeze and stop."

Zelensky: 'Freeze and Stop'

Zelensky said a halt along the front would be only a first step and that Ukraine would then seek security guarantees from the United States and Europe, Mediaite reported.

"And, of course, this is [the] minimum [of] what we need from Russia today. Then we will go to the president and Europeans and ask [for] security guarantees," Zelensky said.

"The most important is peace and also security [of] peace," he continued. "Not to be afraid that occupation will come back, aggression will come back, killings will come back. We have to stop this and that's why [we need] freeze and talks. And security guarantees from the United States and prosperity from our partners for innovation of our lives."

Zelensky also pointed to the millions of Ukrainians who have left the country since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. "We need 9.5 million people which are broad everywhere," he said. "We need them to come back to Ukraine, just to live and to build their country."

Fox News said Zelensky also discussed Russia's release of a detained American and the negotiations to end the war.

Witkoff Shuttles Between Kyiv's and Moscow's Camps

The interview came as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, a day after meeting Zelensky in Norway, the Associated Press reported. Witkoff was expected to bring ideas from the Zelensky meeting, along with proposals from European and American officials, into his talks with the Russian side, according to the AP.

Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired American teacher imprisoned since 2022, during Witkoff's visit, the AP reported.

President Donald Trump has pressed Kyiv to reach a settlement and said Monday that "it's time for somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine," as The Digital Free Press reported. Trump has repeatedly promoted stopping the fighting along the existing front, while Russia has continued to demand control of additional Ukrainian territory, including parts of the Donetsk region its forces do not hold, according to Mediaite. Moscow also continues to oppose Ukrainian membership in NATO, Mediaite reported.

The war will reach the five-year mark in February 2027, according to the AP.

Image: Vinnytsia Oblast State Administration / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

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Sources: Fox News video, "Zelenskyy opens door to battle line 'freeze' to end war with Russia" (Oct. 21, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407179231112 ; Mediaite via Yahoo News, "'Freeze and Stop!' Zelensky Tells Fox News' Brian Kilmeade He Would 'Accept' End of War Along Current Frontlines" (Oct. 21, 2026): https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/freeze-stop-zelensky-tells-fox-120308993.html ; The Associated Press via The Morning Call, "Russia releases detained American Stephen Hubbard during Witkoff visit" (Oct. 21, 2026): https://www.mcall.com/2026/10/21/russia-releases-stephen-hubbard/ ; The Digital Free Press (Oct. 20, 2026): https://www.thedigitalfreepress.com/post/trump-zelensky-somebody-else-negotiate-witkoff-oslo