Giving Ukrainian land to the Russians for the sake of peace is simply an abstract notion. It is not only about reality, but more about philosophy. Putin spoke about Donbas, but then decided to occupy Kyiv. His words were about Donbas, while the reality was about Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this in an interview with DR Nyheder, reports UNN.
Details
The head of state noted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin constantly said that he was protecting Russian-speaking people, and then tortured hundreds and thousands of people in Bucha and other places. Thus, it was not about Russian-speaking people.
That is why, when the Americans asked, "Can you trade Donbas for security?", I immediately replied: "Can you tell me what that means? What kind of security? NATO?" — "Not NATO, but something similar to NATO." Similar? But you do not want the answer regarding Donbas to be "similar." You want a clear answer regarding Donbas. That is your goal. And that is Putin’s goal today. What will you do if we have security guarantees, but not NATO?
He recalled that at one time Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons, which were taken to Russia.
I am not a supporter of nuclear weapons. I think the world would be better without them. But the Russians took our nuclear weapons, didn’t they? They took them. Then they stopped our integration into Europe, then they did not let us join NATO. And ultimately, they occupied us. That is why this is an abstract question. No one believes that Putin will stop if we leave Donbas. He will take a pause. And then he will return in a year, two years, or five years. And who will be to blame?
Reminder
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, wants to restore the Soviet Union and renew its influence in Europe. It opposes European values, so from a pragmatic perspective, it is important and even necessary for Europe to have a strong Ukraine.