Territory cessions as the price for a peace treaty – what is being discussed in the West as an option for Ukraine is out of the question for its president. Not only should the Russian-occupied parts in the east of the country be recaptured, says Zelenskyj. Crimea should also become Ukrainian again.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised his compatriots a reconquest of the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia. “The Ukrainian flag will again fly over Yalta and Sudak, over Dzhankoy and Yevpatoria,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video message on Monday in Kyiv. “Of course we will also liberate our Crimea.”
Russia militarily occupied the Black Sea peninsula in 2014 when Ukraine was weakened after a change of power and was unable to resist. Then an internationally unrecognized referendum was held and Crimea was annexed to Russia. Zelensky has always advocated a return to the peninsula, but has seldom stated it so emphatically as a war goal.
The President called on the citizens of Ukraine to maintain contact with the Russian-occupied parts of the country, Donetsk or the Kharkiv region. These areas would also be liberated again, he announced. “Tell them that the Ukrainian army will definitely come!” In the east, in the Donbass, the army is under pressure. She urgently needs modern artillery from her foreign partners in order to be able to assert herself, said Zelenskyj.
In an interview with the ZDF “heute journal” Selenskyj said when asked about possible cessions of territory, it hurts a lot to lose lives in this defensive fight. “That’s right. But we will lose everything if we lose to Russia in this war.” “I’m not trying to come to an agreement in any way,” he said. “We know exactly what we’re doing. I stress: we have no doubts.” He added: “We are only ready to talk if the other side is ready to put an end to the war. We have no time for talks that are useless.”
