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Zelenskyy's resignation offer and Europe's anniversary protests
Summary
On 23 February 2025, Ukraine's president tied his possible exit from office to NATO membership, as demonstrators marked three years of full-scale war.
What did Ukraine's leader put on the table on 23 February 2025? Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's president, said he was "ready" to resign from the presidency in exchange for NATO accession as part of a potential peace agreement.
The offer linked two questions that sat at the centre of peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine: who would lead Ukraine, and whether the country would join the alliance. By pairing his own departure with NATO membership, Zelenskyy framed the issue of Ukraine–NATO relations as something that could be settled within a wider deal.
Protests mark the anniversary
The same day, demonstrations were held across Europe and Canada to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Protests against the invasion had occurred simultaneously in many places worldwide, including in Russia and in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
The anniversary gatherings showed that public attention to the war extended well beyond Ukraine's borders, in cities on two continents.
Why the day mattered
Taken together, the two developments showed the war at a point of both diplomacy and remembrance. On one side was a president publicly describing a personal sacrifice in return for a security guarantee through NATO accession. On the other were crowds in Europe and Canada marking three years since the invasion began.
The resignation remark was framed as conditional and tied to a potential agreement, not as a decision taken.
