Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Friday that a ceasefire with Russia without regaining the territories would only prolong the conflict.
“The freezing of the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a breathing space to rest,” the head of state stressed.
In this context, Zelenskyy called Moscow an insatiable “sperm whale” who does not understand the language of diplomacy. “This is a sperm whale that swallowed two regions and now it’s saying ‘Freeze the conflict’. ‘”, he said. .
The President added that Ukrainian society believes that “all areas must be liberated first”. “And then we can negotiate what needs to be done and how we might live in the centuries to come,” he continued.
He also commented on statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he assured that Moscow and Kyiv “actually reached an agreement” during the negotiations in Istanbul in March and that the Ukrainian authorities did not want to implement the agreement. Zelensky described the statements made by his Russian counterpart as “total madness” and asserted that he had tried to speak to Putin for a long time before the Moscow mission.
At the same time, the President of Ukraine denounced that the current delivery of HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems to his country is not enough to change the situation.
“HIMARS Western shipments, while making a significant difference, are far less than what Ukraine needs to reverse the situation,” Zelenskyi was quoted as saying by Portal. “An urgent need is air defense systems,” he added.
Referring to the agreement signed in Turkey on Friday to ensure Ukrainian grain exports, Zelenskyy said that “diplomatic concessions to Moscow could stabilize markets somewhat, but they would only be a temporary respite and a boomerang in the future.”
On the other hand, this Friday the US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth around $270 million. The aid includes 580 Phoenix Ghost Kamikaze drones, as well as four HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, 36,000 anti-tank shells and ammunition, said John Kirby, the White House’s National Security Council strategic communications coordinator.
The West does not “allow” Kyiv to continue negotiations
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced this week that while Russia had approached the peace talks issue responsibly from the start, the rounds held had shown Ukraine’s “lack of interest”.
According to Lavrov, Western countries far from the conflict are no longer trying to resolve it diplomatically, encouraging Kyiv to continue a “win-win” crisis.
“There is no doubt that the Ukrainians must not continue negotiations until the Americans decide that they have made a fuss and caused enough chaos to be left alone. [a los ucranianos]”, complains.