Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief explains idea of just peace for Ukraine
Photo: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (facebook.com/CinCAFofUkraine)
A just peace for Ukraine means ending the war without preconditions. Fighting must stop along the front lines, stated Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi in an interview with Sky News.
The general emphasized that the main task right now is "to defend our (Ukrainian - ed.) land, our country, and our population."
"Naturally, for us, it is unacceptable to simply give up territory. What does it even mean - to hand over our land? This is precisely why we are fighting; so we do not give up our territory," he added.
According to Syrskyi, he does not even allow himself to consider a scenario in which Ukraine would be forced to give Russia all of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
"All wars eventually end, and of course, we hope ours will end as well. And when it does, a just peace must be established. In my understanding, a just peace is peace without preconditions, without giving up territory. It means stopping along the current line of contact," the Commander-in-Chief said.
He clarified that there must first be an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the start of negotiations.
"Any other format would be an unjust peace, and for us it is unacceptable," Syrskyi said.
Peace talks
Russia is not backing down from its ultimatum demands to end the war against Ukraine.
Moscow wants Ukraine to withdraw its army from the Donetsk region and hand over full control of the region to Russia.
This scenario was also included in the original version of the US peace plan. However, the issue of territories has still not been agreed upon by Ukraine and the United States. It was expected that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump would discuss it.
