Five Potential Obstacles to Peace Between Russia and Ukraine

The Wall Street Journal, Dec. 20, 2025.

A guide to some of the thorny issues as the U.S. pursues a deal

...If Zelensky agrees to concessions that go against the Ukrainian constitution, he could face consequences from accusations of treason to social unrest, according to Ukrainian political scientist Oleksiy Haran.

“If someone signs it or makes some humiliating concessions, it will cause protests in Ukraine. It will destabilize Ukraine. It will lead to clashes in Ukraine. Putin will take advantage of this,” he said.

NATO

To amend the constitution on this and other issues, the Ukrainian parliament would need to vote with a two-thirds majority.
“No one has that number, and no one will ever have it. In some cases, a referendum is also required,” Haran said. “In other words, it is simply impossible.”

Culture

Another prickly issue in the discussions is the Russian push to bring back Russian- language media and education to Ukraine after the war. Defending the rights of Russian speakers was one of the pretexts for Moscow’s move to annex Crimea and covertly send paramilitaries into parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014.
About 58% of Ukrainians think the Russian language should no longer be taught in Ukrainian schools, compared with 8% in 2019, according to KIIS polling. In reality few are taught in Russian.

“First, they want to take away everything they can from Ukraine. Second, they want to destabilize the country. Third, they want to restore the instruments of Russian influence. Fourth, it’s simply Russian propaganda,” Haran said, naming Russian state media as one of the main influence tools.