On September 10, in an exclusive interview with the British weekly The Economist, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that the country would never compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the war will continue for as long as Russia remains on Ukrainian territory.
“A negotiated deal would not be permanent. The Russian president has a habit of creating frozen conflicts on Russia’s borders (in Georgia, for example), not as ends in themselves but because his goal is to restore the Soviet Union. The mistake is not diplomacy. The mistake is diplomacy with Putin. He negotiates only with himself,” the Ukrainian President was quoted as saying.
He added that cutting help to Ukraine would only prolong the conflict and it would put the West in danger in its own backyard. He also added that it is impossible to foresee how millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries will respond if their country is abandoned.
“Ukrainians have generally behaved well and are very grateful to those who sheltered them. They will not forget that generosity. But it would not be a good story for Europe if it were to drive these people into a corner,” Zelenskyy stated.
The president of Ukraine has consistently outperformed Western politicians in his ability to win over the Western public. He continues to feel that “the greatest method to persuade governments is to push them through the media.”
“People read, people discuss, people make up their minds and people push. It was public opinion that drove politicians to increase arms supplies to Ukraine in the early days of the war. Scaling down that help may anger not just Ukrainians but also Western voters. They will start asking what the whole effort was for. People will not forgive if they lose Ukraine,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying.
Recently, As Russian missiles killed a police officer in the Ukrainian president’s hometown, Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged foreign leaders to ‘resume’ their sanctions drive against Moscow. He said allies had relaxed sanctions against Moscow and urged for more pressure on the Kremlin’s finances.
“Currently, we see a prolonged sanctions pause from our partners, and Russia’s overly active attempts to circumvent the sanctions. This world’s sanctions offensive must resume,” Zelenskyy said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12 that 1,000 to 1,500 Russians were signing voluntary contracts to join the military every day. “Over the past six or seven months, 270,000 people have signed voluntary contracts,” Putin said.
