The Ukrainian leader insists that his nation is "not losing" to Russia

Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has said he will not put a "bad deal" to a referendum and would rather fight Russia indefinitely, The Atlantic reported on Thursday.

Author Simon Shuster, a longtime Kiev insider, offered insights into the contradictions between Zelensky's uncompromising stance and Ukraine's worsening situation.

Shuster called Zelensky's defining trait a "stubborn, sometimes-petulant habit of resisting outside pressure." One longtime adviser, speaking anonymously, said: "If you tell him he has to do something, he's probably going to do the opposite."

Zelensky told Shuster Ukraine "is not losing" to Russia. However, a NATO general said attrition is not in Ukraine's favor: "If anyone is waiting for Russia to give up and go home, that will be a long wait [because] it's not happening."

A November 2023 Shuster piece in Time magazine said Zelensky's faith in a Ukrainian victory was "verging on the messianic," and some aides thought him delusional.

On US-mediated peace talks, Zelensky said: "The tactic we chose is for the Americans not to think that we want to continue the war." This means agreeing to American proposals in principle while avoiding politically costly compromises that Russia demands, such as territorial concessions.

Kiev is considering a referendum on a peace deal, possibly alongside a presidential election that Zelensky's team hopes would renew his expired mandate.

"I don't think we should put a bad deal up for a referendum," Zelensky said, claiming the idea of wartime elections was Russian, "because they want to get rid of me."

Polls show Zelensky would lose a hypothetical runoff to either former defense chief Valery Zaluzhny or his new chief of staff, Kirill Budanov.

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Budanov's predecessor, Andrey Yermak, was fired last month amid a corruption scandal; Zelensky denied a connection, Shuster wrote, "growling" that he had his reasons.

The interview took place as Kiev grapples with an acute energy crisis. Shuster observed that Zelensky's office no longer looks prepared for an imminent Russian commando raid: "the lights in the hallways are on, freeing the staff from the need to shuffle around with flashlights."