Zelenskyy rejects giving Ukrainian land to Putin to stop the war
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine will not make territorial concessions to Russia to stop the war. This will in no way stop Vladimir Putin, says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s security guarantees are Europe’s security
Zelenskyy emphasized that security guarantees for Ukraine are, in fact, security guarantees for all of Europe. "When we talk about security guarantees for us in Ukraine, in reality, these are security guarantees for all of Europe. This is already an obvious thing. By now, even a banal one," he said.
He called for seeking influence on China so that Beijing would use its leverage on Russia to end the war. "We must find a way to influence China so that they apply their influence on Russia for the sake of ending the war," Zelenskyy noted.
The role of China and Western influence
The president said that Russia remains a supplier of raw materials to China and is politically dependent on it, which is why it is important to motivate Beijing to choose the path without war. "Russia, in any case, will not stop being a supplier of raw materials for China and politically dependent on China, that is the path they chose for themselves and have gone too far down it," he said.
According to Zelenskyy, much depends on the strength of the United States and Europe and their ability to coordinate their influence. "It is necessary to find an answer on how to motivate China to take the path without war, and this also depends in many ways on the strength of America and Europe," he added.
Isolation of Russia and sanctions pressure
The head of state called Russia’s isolation one of the key tools of pressure and urged strengthening sanctions and tariffs. "One of the key issues is the isolation of Russia; this must necessarily be preserved, and sanctions work in particular for this. Tariffs must work in particular for this. Russian assets must be confiscated in particular for this."
He stressed the need for principled policy and for rejecting the idea that money or buying everything and everyone would solve the problem. "It is important that principledness also works in political matters. Russia’s bet on money, on Putin’s belief that he will buy everything and everyone, must not work. Is this possible? Yes, if the world really wants the war to end," the president said.
No concessions – only guarantees and accountability
Zelenskyy firmly rejected the idea of territorial concessions as a way to end the war, calling it only a pause that would sooner or later result in new attacks. "To give Putin this part or that land of Ukraine so that he stops the war – that will not happen. This is not a solution. This is a pause. Like after 2008 and Georgia, like after 2014 and Crimea and Donetsk."
According to him, what is needed is not a temporary lull but a guaranteed end to the war, guaranteed security for Ukraine, and guaranteed responsibility of Russia for what it has done. "We need a guaranteed end of the war, guaranteed security for Ukraine, guaranteed responsibility of Russia for what it has done against Ukraine."
As a reminder, US Vice President JD Vance said that the Russians want to get about 6,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory that they have not occupied.
According to a poll by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Center, the majority of respondents (59.5%) are convinced that regardless of the conditions of ending the current war with Russia, in the future, Russia will attack Ukraine again.
