No truce only victory – that is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky defiant message to Vladimir Putin as the bitter war approaches its seventh month.
A ceasefire without the return of lost territories would make sure the war flared up all over again, Zelensky said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
He warned that any truce which allowed Russia to continue occupying Ukrainian territories seized since the February invasion would inevitably see Moscow use such a pause in hostilities to replenish and re-arm for the next round.
Zelensky also spoke about US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), saying, “the Western supplies of Himars, while making a material difference, are much lower than what Ukraine needs to turn the tide”.
“Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest,” the Wall Street Journal reported, citing comments by Zelensky.
First victory, then talks
He said, “Society believes that all the territories must be liberated first, and then we can negotiate about what to do and how we could live in the centuries ahead.
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“A more pressing need is air-defence systems that could prevent Russia from raining long-range missiles on otherwise peaceful cities hundreds of miles from the front lines,” Zelensky added.
Referring to the deal signed with Russia to reopen grain exports Zelensky said, “Diplomatic concessions to Moscow might stabilise the markets somewhat but would only provide a temporary respite and boomerang in the future”.
Russia and Ukraine signed a landmark deal on Friday to reopen Ukrainian Black Sea ports for grain exports, raising hopes that an international food crisis aggravated by the Russian invasion can be eased.
Source: THE NEWDAILY
