President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to exchange a pause in the war for the legalization of the occupation of part of Ukraine’s territory.
According to Ukrinform, this was stated in the President’s evening address.
“Everyone can see Putin’s tactics. He is afraid of sanctions and is doing everything he can to avoid them. He wants to exchange a pause in the war and killings for the legalization of the occupation of our land — he wants to gain territorial gains for the second time,” Zelensky said.
The president emphasized: “He was allowed to take Crimea, and this led to the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He did not receive preventive punishment when he gathered troops on our borders. This led to a full-scale war and the occupation of even more parts of Ukraine.”
“Now Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing the south of our Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, the entire territory of Luhansk, Donetsk, and Crimea. We will not allow this second attempt by Russia to divide Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there is a third. Therefore, we stand firm on clear Ukrainian positions,” Zelensky said.
As reported by Ukrinform, the administration of US President Donald Trump is consulting with European partners on Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire, which he conveyed through White House special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump announced on Friday that he would meet with Putin on August 15 in Alaska.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace, but Ukrainians will not give their land to invaders.
Photo: OP
Source: Putin seeks war pause in exchange for legalization of occupied Ukrainian territory, says Zelensky
