Zelenskyy makes no predictions about Donbas battle: battle will be difficult but we believe in victory

Valentyna Romanenko – Saturday, 9 April 2022, 15:10

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine said that he was reluctant to make predictions about how events will unfold in eastern Ukraine, where Russia is concentrating troops for an offensive, but stressed that he believed in Ukraine’s victory.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, in a joint press conference with Karl Nehammer, Chancellor of Austria, on 9 April

According to Zelenskyy: "We are witnessing preparations for an important (some even say decisive) battle in the east of our country. I don’t want to bear the responsibility that making a prediction entails. I can only take responsibility for defending our country and for our resistance, which we continue to demonstrate.

So I want to say that yes, [Russian] troops, their military personnel who want to occupy another part of our territory, their machinery are gathering in the east and south [of Ukraine].

The battle will be difficult, [but] we believe in our resistance and in our victory. We are prepared to fight, and at the same time to look for diplomatic solutions which could end this war one way or another. For now, we are also considering such dialogue."

Earlier: Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said he was convinced that Russia would not be able to win in Donbas, because Ukraine will not yield and will not surrender its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In an interview with "Bild", a German publication, Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has no other choice but to negotiate with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, because only he can stop the war.

Background:

• After 8 years of hybrid warfare, President Vladimir Putin of Russia began a full-scale invasion in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The Kremlin is calling this war a "special military operation" and continues to come up with new justifications and goals for it.
• Russian troops have withdrawn from the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, and Sumy regions due to lack of success in their ground operation and problems with personnel and supplies. The Russian Federation called this a "gesture of good will."

The Russian Federation is relocating some of the troops withdrawn from the north of Ukraine to the east of the country. It is expected that Russia will attempt to capture the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russian troops are also fighting for territories in the Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, and are attempting to break through to the city of Mykolaiv.