Ukraine’s war effort is being sustained by its many allies, but the support now seems to be quivering. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has suggested that Ukraine may have to cede territory to end the conflict. The NATO chief said that the West is willing to “pay a price” to strengthen the Ukrainian military. However, Kyiv will have to make some territorial concessions to Moscow in order to end the current conflict. US-led NATO changing stance on support to Kyiv amid war? NATO wary of war, or afraid of Putin’s nuke threats?
Ukraine’s standing as the “defensive perimeter” for the world against Russia and Vladimir Putin means it cannot “concede” anything, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Newsmax. “We’re not ready to concede any of our territories, because our territories are our territories: It’s our independence, our sovereignty; that’s the issue,” Zelenskyy told Rob Schmitt through and interpreter in an exclusive sitdown interview in the capital city of Kyiv on Tuesday. Zelenskyy acknowledged, “there are some difficulties with some territories; there are some details, but all those difficulties, they could be discussed, and those discussions would be necessary to stop the war.” The Donetsk and Luhansk regions Putin has attempted to claim as independent are not negotiable for takeover at the hands of force, Zelenskyy added to Schmitt, calling for resolution of “those difficulties and challenges through diplomatic channels.” “If it’s all about ultimatums and, ‘You have to concede a third of your territory, we’ll leave you calm and we’ll leave you alive’: This is not something we can agree on,” Zelenskyy said.
Ultimately, Russia is going to run out of will to keep fighting in the contested southern and eastern regions of Ukraine as the world aligns behind our sovereignty, Zelenskyy said. “Russia will not be able to control everything in Ukraine anytime soon,” he continued. “And then there is only one solution: occupation by force. The negotiations could be there, but there has to be a sense, there has to be a willingness on the part of Russia to have those negotiations. So we’re not ready to accept any ultimatums.”
