Ukraine must accept some territories will stay under Russian control, says Czech president

Ukraine must come to terms with the fact that some of its territories will remain under Russian control temporarily after the war ends, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with The New York Times.

According to Pavel, fatigue from the full-scale war is "growing everywhere," and Ukraine "will have to be realistic" about the prospects of reclaiming the territories occupied by Russia.

"The most probable outcome of the war will be that a part of Ukrainian territory will be under Russian occupation," Pavel said.

He added that this "temporary thing" could last for years.

Pavel believes that neither Ukraine nor Russia can fully achieve their goals. For Ukraine, this includes reclaiming all its territories, including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. For Russia, it involves demanding that Ukraine officially cede the territories Moscow claims, including four regions that are only partially controlled by Russian forces.

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