Davos, Switzerland, 16 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned against attempts at "freezing" the Russian war against his country and says the world needs to help stop the conflict now to avoid Moscow starting another "catastrophe" elsewhere.

"Any frozen conflict will eventually ignite," he told the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos.

He is in favour of deciding the war on the battlefield and inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia "this year" rather than a long-lasting ceasefire which may give Moscow some Ukrainian territory.

Zelensky recalled attempts by former German chancellor Angela Merkel to stop the conflict in eastern Ukraine that broke out in 2014. The agreements reached at the time on a ceasefire and peace plan were never fully implemented and a full-scale war eventually ensued.

Zelensky once again accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "madness" and having no interest in peaceful solutions after nearly two years of war, as well as the 2014 annexation of Crimea and involvement in Syria's civil conflict.

"Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with frozen products," he said, adding that his 10-point plan, based on a complete Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, reparations and punishment of war criminals is the only proposal that would bring a "just and stable peace."

He criticized the international community for not doing enough to help Ukraine and added: "Putin is trying to normalize what should have ended in the 20th century - mass deportations, cities and villages razed to the ground and the terrifying feeling that the war may never end.

"In fact Putin embodies war. He will not change. We must change."

Photo: EPA