Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that giving up any of Ukraine’s land would only allow Russian leader Vladimir Putin to use it as a base for future attacks on Europe if the continent fails to remain strong.
US President Donald Trump, who in August shifted from demanding a ceasefire to pushing for a final peace deal after meeting Putin, said Zelensky could end the war “almost immediately, if he wants to.”
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But he added that for Ukraine there was “no getting back” Crimea, suggesting Kyiv might have to make territorial concessions in exchange for peace.
Zelensky repeatedly pushed back against such ideas.
“Some media claim that if Ukrainian soldiers leave the eastern regions of our country, peace would return there. But that’s not true,” he said in an interview with French magazine Le Point.
“Putin seized Crimea to use it as a base to encircle the south. In 2014, he captured part of the east to prepare for full occupation of those regions.”
He added that a retreat from Donbas would leave Kharkiv, a city of 1.5 million, exposed and could allow Russia to seize the industrial hub of Dnipro. “That would open new opportunities for him,” Zelensky said.
The president stressed that Ukraine’s survival will determine where Europe’s eastern border lies. “If Ukraine does not hold out, that border will be Poland or even Germany,” he said.
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Zelensky also warned that new weapons technology makes distance meaningless. “Believe me, in two years the Russians will have many missiles – and we will too – with a range of 5,000 kilometers. The sea will protect no one, the ocean will protect no one,” he said.
His comments came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday Moscow was still seeking international recognition that the parts of Ukraine annexed and occupied by Moscow’s forces belong to Russia.
Russia claims to have annexed five Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, as well as the Crimean peninsula, seized in 2014.
“In order for a durable peace, the new territorial realities that arose... must be recognized and formalized in accordance with international law,” Lavrov said in remarks published by Moscow.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha blasted Moscow for pushing what he called “old ultimatums.” He said Russia “has not changed its aggressive goals and shows no signs of readiness for meaningful negotiations,” urging the West to “hit the Russian war machine with severe new sanctions and sober Moscow up.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he would continue fighting if a peace deal cannot be reached. Speaking in Beijing after attending a military parade with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Putin praised his forces’ advances, claiming they were making progress “on all fronts” and had weakened Ukraine’s military.
“If there is no peace deal, then we will have to resolve all our tasks militarily,” he said.
Zelensky, who arrived in Paris the same day for talks with European allies, said he has seen no signs that Moscow is serious about ending the war. European leaders are working on security guarantees and considering a peacekeeping force to protect Ukraine, if a deal is reached.
Earlier, Zelensky suggested Ukraine could face a scenario similar to South Korea, which prospered after the Korean War despite the absence of a peace treaty.
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