Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview with ARD that he is "ready" to meet with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin, writes UNN.
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To achieve a ceasefire, Zelenskyy, the publication writes, "expressed readiness for compromise and openness to negotiations on Russia's territorial claims." The Kremlin head demands that Ukraine withdraw troops from those parts of Donbas that are currently under Ukraine's control.
"Territorial issues can only be finally resolved between heads of state and government," Zelenskyy said.
I have a simple message for Putin: I am ready to meet. We must end the war
According to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, ending the war depends primarily on the pressure exerted on Putin by the United States and Europeans.
"The war will end when US President Trump, together with the Europeans, tames Putin and forces him to start real negotiations that will yield results," Zelenskyy said.
The President, it is noted, summarized more than four years of the Russian invasion. He spoke in detail about the role of Germany and other European partners. He "did not hold back criticism, especially regarding Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán." "If he blocks 90 billion euros, then he puts himself on the same level as Putin and Lukashenka," Zelenskyy said.
Regarding the expectation of EU membership, Zelenskyy stated that "it is time to take Ukraine's accession negotiations to a new level and open the so-called negotiation clusters." "The fact that this has not happened yet is unfair": "We are carrying out these reforms during the war. We are achieving more during the war than other accession candidates in peacetime," Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy stated that he continues to insist on a specific date for EU accession, although he does not name 2027, which he proposed earlier, the publication writes.
In addition, Zelenskyy called on European states to increase economic pressure on Russia and, in particular, to further limit its oil exports.
Zelenskyy mostly expressed words of praise and gratitude to Germany. However, Zelenskyy would like to see a more active role for Germany after a ceasefire than has been discussed so far. He noted that France and Great Britain have already agreed to send troops to Ukraine to facilitate peacekeeping. "Of course, we would like Germany to join these countries. But this is exclusively Germany's independent decision," the President said.
From a military point of view, the President of Ukraine characterized the four years since the Russian invasion primarily as a defeat for the aggressor, Russia, the publication writes. "Russia is fighting to destroy us as an independent state - we have not allowed this," Zelenskyy said. He also stated that he does not believe that Ukraine is currently losing the war – this is a "Russian narrative."
Zelenskyy pointed to recent successes. For example, Ukraine managed to recapture 300 square kilometers of land in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
As the publication writes, "in the future, Ukraine will benefit from the shutdown of the Starlink satellite internet system for the Russian army." Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, made this decision a few weeks ago. Before that, many Russian units used Starlink for communication.
Now only Ukrainian units will be able to use it; their terminals will be included in the so-called "white list." Military experts say that Starlink provided particularly reliable and secure communication.
Zelenskyy: Putin and Russia mean war from Chechnya and Georgia to Ukraine and Africa24.02.26, 11:59