Zelenskyy: We will not allow Russia a second attempt to divide Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine and its partners will not allow another partition of Ukraine, as proposed by the Russian dictator. Vladimir PutinHe said about thissaid in the evening address.

"Everyone can clearly see Putin's tactics. He is afraid of sanctions and is doing everything to get rid of them. He wants to exchange a pause in the war, in the killings, for the legalization of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial gains for the second time," the president said.

Zelenskyy stressed that the unpunished seizure of Crimea led to the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. And the insufficient preventive response to the buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border at the beginning of 2022 led to a full-scale war and the occupation of further parts of Ukraine.

"Now Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing the south of our Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, the entire territory of Luhansk region, Donetsk region, and Crimea. We will not allow Russia to make this second attempt to divide Ukraine. Knowing Russia – where there's a second, there's a third. Therefore, we stand firmly, on clear Ukrainian positions," the president stated.

He stressed that Ukraine must end the war with a dignified peace, which will be based on a "clear, reliable security architecture".

"Our partners are ready to help us with this," the president assured.

• On August 9, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine will not "give land to the occupiers"However, the full-scale war needs to end, and Russia must be the one to do it.
• Also on that day, he claimed that Ukraine sees no change in the Russian position.which would indicate its desire for a real end to the war.
• Besides that, Zelenskyyheld a series of phone calls with European leaders to coordinate the positions of Ukraine and Europe regarding the settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian war.