LONDON, December 29. /TASS/. Russia’s advances on the battlefield have forced Vladimir Zelensky to drop his maximalist demands and be more disposed to make a peace deal, Sky News international correspondent John Sparks said.

"You've got Zelensky now talking about the possibility of a referendum; he never mentioned that before. He's not dismissing it. I read into that a certain level of desperation, really, on the Ukrainian part. They do need a deal; troops are exhausted on the front, they are losing territory, he does have to seek some sort of cessation to the fighting," he noted.

Zelensky said earlier that a potential peace deal could be put to a referendum.