Zelensky rejects possibility of frozen conflict in Ukraine / Article

“We will not allow a frozen conflict. I became president when there were ‘Minsk-1’, ‘Minsk-2’, there were relevant documents that were considered, so I can say that they were not serious documents. There was an agreement on paper, it was “I am against, we will definitely not have such a document,” Zelensky said of the Minsk format agreement reached after 2014 to settle relations between Ukraine and Russia.

He added that Ukraine has not violated the Minsk agreement and has not withdrawn from the negotiation process.

“We have not withdrawn from the Minsk process so far, the Russian leader withdrew from it on February 24, said it publicly and salted the ‘military operation’, although we understand that it is a war, a comprehensive attack. That is why they withdrew, and Ukraine again will definitely not get into the diplomatic swamp, “stressed the President of Ukraine.

Zelensky has made two demands on Russia: to return to the borders that existed until February 24, and to return the illegally occupied Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.

In a video speech, Zelensky also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should take a public ceasefire, but that Russia’s desire to stop fighting has not yet been felt.

The Ukrainian president said that Ukrainian forces had been violating the ceasefire agreement for several years at the Donbass contact line, and that even if there was an agreement on a ceasefire to bring civilians to safety, the shooting and bombing continued.

Zelensky expressed confidence that the ceasefire would take place only when he had the opportunity to meet with the President of Russia.

“If there is a meeting with President Putin, there will be a ceasefire in the meantime. Otherwise, the meeting will not take place. And then we will probably agree in person. He must take personal responsibility for the ceasefire. And preferably in public,” said the President of Ukraine.

CONTEXT:

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to start Russian troops invade Ukraine. Putin claimed that NATO was going to use Ukraine as a bridgehead for aggression against Russia, although there was no evidence of these allegations. Ukraine believes that Putin’s real goal is to destroy Ukraine’s statehood and bring the territory under Moscow’s control.

Russia hoped to occupy Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities within a few days, but the Ukrainian armed forces showed fierce resistance to the occupiers and Russia has failed to meet its targets. Russian occupation forces continue to fire on Ukrainian cities, causing increasing civilian casualties.

In early April, the international community was shocked by news from the Kiev region of the city of Bucca, where Russian troops brutally retaliated against the civilian population. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described it as a war crime and genocide against the Ukrainian people.

More than 5.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of the war.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has provoked a general one condemnation of the international communityagainst Russia is new sanctions have been introduced. Many Western companies have decided to leave the Russian market.

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