Zelenskyy: We rejected Russia's ultimatums at the start of the invasion, why accept them now?

Ukraine did not accept Russia's ultimatums at the start of the full-scale invasion and will not do so now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press conference in Ankara.

Zelenskyy noted that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine did not receive assistance from its partners. Support only came when "everyone saw that Putin would not be able to capture our state, that our people and military would not go anywhere, that the president of Ukraine did not flee."

"[At the start of the invasion] Russia issued an ultimatum: reducing the Ukrainian Armed Forces, recognizing occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Russia, and installing a pro-Russian government fully aligned with Putin's vertical of power," the president said.

In his view, the current negotiations between Russia and the US are taking place "with the same attitude" as Russia had at the start of the full-scale war.

Zelenskyy also pointed out that these talks are once again being conducted under the principle of "about Ukraine, without Ukraine."

"It's interesting—if we didn't accept these ultimatums in our most difficult moment, why does anyone think Ukraine would accept them now?" the president asked.