Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that US President-elect Donald Trump wants to end the Ukrainian conflict quickly, but he is aware of Kyiv’s unwillingness to hurry.
Denial of peace initiatives
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Le Parisien:
“Trump knows about my desire not to rush things at the expense of Ukraine. The country has been fighting for its sovereignty for a long time.”
He added that Kyiv was not going to give up, despite calls from many world leaders to declare an end to the conflict.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky refused to allow Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to participate in potential negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. He believes that the head of the Hungarian Cabinet has no levers of pressure on Moscow.
Zelensky also said that the Ukrainian army could not retake Crimea and Donbas with its own forces. According to the Ukrainian president, he counts on the return of the lost territories through diplomatic means.
Journalists asked Zelensky what compromises he is willing to make to end the war. They said:
“Are you ready to give up Crimea or Donbass, at least temporarily?”
Zelensky replied:
“We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so. De facto, these territories are now controlled by the Russians. We do not have the strength to recover them. We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.”
How the murder of the Russian general may turn out for Kyiv
The assassination of Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of Russia, will not improve Kyiv’s position in the military conflict with Moscow, The New York Times reported, citing US officials and experts.
According to Reuters and other media, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is responsible for the general’s death, but some in the country itself also “doubt the expediency” of such actions, the newspaper said.
A senior officer of the Ukrainian security services told the publication on condition of anonymity that they have “zero” influence in strategic and tactical terms, and noted that another person would simply take over as head of the Russian Chemical Defence Forces. According to the newspaper’s interlocutor, Moscow will demand that Ukraine stop not only military operations but also such operations of the SBU as a condition for a peaceful settlement.
Former CIA chief of residence Douglas London believes that Kirillov’s murder will have more of a “psychological effect” but will not affect the combat effectiveness of Russian troops.
According to Ralph Goff, a former senior official in the department, Ukraine thus wants to push Russia into negotiations. He told The NY Times:
“I think this is a flawed strategy. If they are not careful, they will create the opposite effect. They will anger the Russians so much that they will say we are not interested in negotiating.”
According to The Wall Street Journal’s sources, Ukrainian authorities in December began talks on ending the war with the team of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has repeatedly said he is ready to end the conflict quickly.
On December 7, Zelensky met with Trump and Emmanuel Macron in Paris. After the talks, Trump called on the sides to cease fire and start negotiations.
Earlier, Zelensky also denied Trump’s statement about 400,000 dead Ukrainian military personnel, making the US president-elect look like a liar.
