Zelenskyy open to freezing front lines in peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would accept a peace deal freezing the current front lines, a proposal sharply criticized by former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In a Fox News interview Wednesday, Zelenskyy agreed to a frozen front line, noting Ukraine would retain about 75 percent of its territory. He called it "the real way to end this war" but stressed the need for security guarantees. Romney compared the move to appeasement, writing on X that Churchill could have shortened World War II by making a deal with Hitler. Zelenskyy said any compromise must be approved by Ukraine's parliament and people, as polls show about 60 percent of Ukrainians oppose ceding the Donbas region. The comments came as U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.