“There are things that can only be reached at the negotiating table,” Zelensky said in an interview with a Ukrainian news channel.

Ukraine has so far been able to keep Russia from attaining its initial military goals, beating back the invading forces from the capital city of Kyiv and the northern city of Kharkiv. The fighting is now focused on the eastern Donbas region, which has for several years been gripped by pro-Russian separatist forces. As Zelensky made his comments on Saturday, the Times of Israel reported that Russian forces had destroyed a shipment of weaponry bound for Ukraine from ally nations.

Zelensky stressed that the fighting will continue while a diplomatic solution is sought, and that it will “be bloody” and can “only definitively end through diplomacy.” The leader also added that his government would only accept ceasefire terms that are “fair” to Ukraine.