Zelenskyy explains why he will not make territorial concessions

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is using the seized territories as a springboard for new aggression, so Ukraine will not make territorial concessions. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Le Point.

According to him, some media write that if Ukrainian soldiers left the eastern regions, peace would be restored, but this is not true. Zelensky recalled the occupation of Crimea in 2014, which became a springboard for the seizure of southern Ukraine in 2022.

"He invaded a part of the east of our country in 2014 to use it as a springboard for the full occupation of these regions. If tomorrow we somehow left Donbas, which will not happen, we would open up an unprotected space for Putin, near a city with a population of one and a half million: Kharkiv. He would also seize the industrial center of Dnipro," Zelensky stated.

This would open up opportunities for the Russian dictator, the president believes. He emphasized that if Putin managed to capture the whole of Ukraine, he would use it as a "springboard".

"Whether he does or not will depend on the strength of Europe. If Europe is strong, he will probably do nothing, but if it is weak, it will be subject to Russia's actions. There are less than 3,000 kilometers between Moscow and Paris. But today, the missiles that Russia is using against Ukraine have a range of 2,500 kilometers. We ourselves have missiles with a range of 3000 km," the president said.

He believes that this war is contributing to technological development in Europe, but also in Russia. With this technological development, there are no more long-distance wars.

"Believe me, in two years, the Russians will have many missiles – we will too – with a range of 5,000 kilometers. The sea will not protect anyone. The ocean will not protect anyone. Missiles may one day even have a range of 10,000 kilometers. In this respect, the weapons used by Russia today are not so different from nuclear weapons delivery systems," Zelensky added.

He gave the example of the Oreshnik missile. According to him, although it can be aimed at one point, it also hits the entire surrounding area, regardless of what is there, regardless of how many people live there.

"This means that the logic of using these weapons can be similar to the logic of nuclear missiles," the president summarized.

• August 9 Zelensky said that Ukraine will not give its land to the occupier and the answer to the Ukrainian territorial issue is already in the Constitution of Ukraine.
• Senator Graham said that Russia and Ukraine will have to exchange some territories, to end the war, but Kyiv must receive security guarantees so that Russian aggression does not repeat itself.
• On August 12, Zelenskyy said that Defense Forces will not leave Donbas.