Zelenskyy: Putin will not stop until he loses

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not end the war until Russia truly loses it, and he has come to terms with the fact that he will not be able to occupy Ukraine. This is the reason Kyiv will not agree to freeze the conflict.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with FoxNews

Details: When asked if Zelenskyy could envision a scenario in which 20% of Ukraine's territory remained under Russian control whilst the other 80% went on to join NATO and the EU, the President responded: "Firstly, we weren’t never given that option [sic]... There has been speculation to that effect from the media and other commentators, but no official proposals [to allow Ukraine into NATO or the EU in spite of a frozen conflict]."

"Secondly, we remember full well how Russia has acted in the past. Remember our frozen conflict with them over Crimea and part of the Donbas right at the beginning [2014]? They were responsible, yet we negotiated and came up with the [ultimately unsuccessful] Minsk agreement in the Normandy format, between Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine. So we had this document spelling out the exchange [of PoWs] and mandating a ceasefire – everything a lot of countries are now asking us to negotiate over again, saying that we need a ceasefire; we need to sit down and draft a document freezing the conflict and the war will be all over."

Quote: "No. The answer is [that] it’s not only about territorial holdings, but about our security." 

"My signal is: We don’t want to repeat Minsk agreements, but on another part of our territory. No new frozen conflicts. We don’t believe in it. And I don’t trust him (Putin – ed.)."

Details: Zelenskyy recalled that his team created a document based on the Ukrainian Peace Formula to find a way to end the war diplomatically.

He said once the document is agreed upon and Ukraine's positions are firm, a solution can be reached through negotiations.

Zelenskyy added that Putin must be made to understand that the entire world needs peace and that he will not be given the opportunity to occupy and completely destroy Ukraine, which he still pursues. 

Support UP or become our patron!