Kyiv. In an interview with the BBC, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would not lose the war with Russia and would not agree to territorial concessions in exchange for a truce. He also rejected Moscow’s demand that Kyiv hand over roughly 20 per cent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls, as well as other areas in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
‘I don't see it simply as territory. I see it as abandonment – weakening our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our people who live there,’ Zelenskyy said. According to the president, such a ‘withdrawal’ would divide Ukrainian society.
The Ukrainian leader added that territorial concessions could temporarily satisfy Putin, arguing that the Russian president needs time to recover.
‘But when he recovers, our European partners say it could take three to five years. In my opinion, he could recover in a few years at most. Where would he go next? We don't know, but the fact is that he would want to continue the war.’
World War III
According to the Ukrainian leader, Russia poses a broader global threat, arguing that it has already started a third world war and that the only effective response is sustained military and economic pressure. ‘I believe Putin has already started it. Russia wants to impose a different way of life on the world and change the lives that people have chosen for themselves,’ he said.
He defined victory not only as the end of the fighting, but also as halting Russian expansion. ‘Stopping Putin today and preventing him from occupying Ukraine is a victory for the whole world. Because Putin will not stop at Ukraine,’ he said.
In the long term, he said Ukraine would return to its 1991 borders. ‘It's just a matter of time,’ he said, adding that the immediate recovery of all occupied territories would entail heavy human losses.
Zelenskyy added that Russia has a large army and is aware of the cost of such actions. ‘And what is a country without people? Honestly, nothing,’ he said.
Reaction to Trump's statements
US President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to return swiftly to the negotiating table and, according to several diplomatic sources, supports territorial concessions as a path to a truce.
Trump has previously described Zelenskyy as a dictator and suggested that Ukraine was responsible for starting the war. ‘I am not a dictator, and I did not start the war, that's all,’ Zelenskyy responded.
Asked whether Trump could be trusted on the issue of security guarantees, he said it was not only about the president, but about the United States as a whole. ‘We are all presidents for a specific term. We want guarantees for 30 years, for example. Political elites will change, leaders will change.’
According to the BBC, he was referring to the fact that any permanent US security guarantees would require approval by Congress in Washington. ‘Congress will vote on them for a reason. It's not just about presidents,’ the Ukrainian leader said.
At the same time, he said such security guarantees would have to be in place before he could consider another US demand — that general elections be held in Ukraine by the summer. He was referring to a Russian claim that the current Ukrainian president is illegitimate.
His term of office was due to end in 2024. However, elections are not possible under martial law, as the constitution prohibits them. According to Zelenskyy, they would be technically possible if the legislation were amended, but security guarantees remain a priority.
‘If this is a condition for ending the war, let's do it,’ he said, while pointing to the practical difficulties of participation by millions of refugees abroad and residents of the occupied territories. He has not confirmed whether he will run for re-election. ‘Maybe I will run, maybe I won't.’
Western support under strain
According to Zelenskyy, the country’s fate depends not only on Ukraine itself, but also on its European partners. He acknowledged that there is a shortage of weapons.
The US president has halted several military aid deliveries. However, Washington continues to provide crucial intelligence, while European countries are spending billions on American-made weapons, which are then supplied to Ukraine.
‘Today, the problem is air defence. This is the most complex problem. Unfortunately, our partners still do not grant us licences to produce our own systems, such as Patriot systems, or even missiles for the systems we already have. So far, we have not been successful in this regard,’ Zelenskyy said, adding that he does not know why they are unwilling to do so.
Asked whether the Russian president would end the war without significant pressure, he replied: ‘Yes and no. We'll see. Just because he doesn't want to doesn't mean he won't have to.’
At the end of the interview, he was asked whether Ukraine should prepare for an even longer war. ‘No, there are two parallel paths. You are playing chess with many leaders, not with Russia. There is no one right path. You have to choose many parallel steps, parallel directions. And one of these parallel paths, I think, will bring success. For us, success means stopping Putin,’ he concluded.
(max)