Zelenskyy: Ukraine does not yet have the strength to liberate Crimea and Donbas

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine does not yet have the strength to liberate occupied Crimea and part of Donbas, which are currently "physically" controlled by Russia. However, he is confident that the West can exert influence on Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to make him sit down at the negotiating table.

Source: Zelenskyy speaking with readers of Le Parisien, responding to a question about whether Ukraine might "temporarily" give up Crimea and Donbas

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Legally, we cannot give up our territories. The Constitution of Ukraine prohibits it. But physically, what are those big words worth? If they physically have part of our territories under their control today, then they control it. Unfortunately, we don’t.

And if we don't have the strength today to win back all our territories, then the West may find the strength to sit Putin down at the [negotiating - ed.] table and deal with this war diplomatically."

Details: "We will not legally recognise the occupied territories," Zelenskyy stressed. He said there will be no compromise on this.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Diplomacy does not mean solidifying his [Putin’s] occupation as something legal. It is a way to end this war – diplomatically. And here we need a strong US and a strong Europe to force Putin to end the war diplomatically."

Previously: In November, Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukraine cannot afford to lose tens of thousands of lives in the effort to liberate Crimea, although he noted that this could be achieved through diplomatic means.

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