With Crimea under Russian occupation, war not over yet – Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the ultimate goal of Ukraine under his leadership is the liberation of Crimea, and only then will it mean that "the war is over", and Zelenskyy will not consider "peace" without Crimea a "victory".

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN

Details: In particular, Zelenskyy said that his ultimate goal is to liberate Crimea, which was annexed in 2014: "We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing: the war is not over yet."

When asked if there was any scenario in which there could be peace without Crimea, Zelenskyy said: "It will not be victory then."

He has also commented on the Wagner Group’s rebellion in Russia and said that the Russian dictator's reaction was weak.

Quote: "We see Putin’s reaction. It’s weak.

Firstly, we see he doesn’t control everything. Wagner’s moving deep into Russia and taking certain regions shows how easy it is to do. Putin doesn’t control the situation in the regions. 

All that vertical of power he used to have is just crumbling down."

Details: Zelenskyy has said that Ukrainian intelligence reports indicate that the Kremlin is measuring Prigozhin's support, and that half of Russia supports the Wagner leader and his rebellion.

The president has also commented on his meeting with the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Bill Burns, who recently visited Kyiv and met with him and Ukrainian intelligence officials.

Zelenskyy has said he was "surprised" to see his meeting with Burns reported in the media.

Quote: "My communication with the CIA chief should always be behind the scenes. We discuss important things – what Ukraine needs and how Ukraine is prepared to act. 

We don’t have any secrets from CIA, because we have good relations, and our intelligence services talk with each other. 

The situation is pretty straightforward. We have good relations with the CIA chief and we are talking. I told him about all the important things related to the battlefield which we need."

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