Vladimir Putin’s goal is to occupy all of Ukraine. This statement was made by Volodymyr Zelensky during his speech at the Yalta European Strategy conference.
“And no matter what he tells anyone, one thing is clear: he has set the war machine in motion to such an extent that he simply cannot stop it unless he is forced to fundamentally change his goals. The Russian war machine will only stop when it runs out of fuel,” the head of state emphasized.
The president said that “it is essential to have strong responses to every challenge.”
“Russia must believe that America, Europe, and the West in general will not allow Russia to wage war. Really strong pressure is needed so that instead of occupying Ukraine or any other country, Putin’s goal is to preserve his system, his economy,” the head of state said.
Zelensky called the isolation of Russia one of the key instruments of pressure and called for tougher sanctions: “One of the key issues is the isolation of Russia, which must be maintained, and sanctions are working specifically for this. Tariffs must work specifically for this. Russian assets must be confiscated specifically for this.”
The president also firmly rejected the idea of territorial concessions as a way to achieve a ceasefire, calling it only a pause that would sooner or later turn into new attacks.
“Giving Putin this or that piece of Ukrainian land so that he stops the war — that will not happen. This is not a solution, it is a pause, like after 2008 for Georgia or 2014 for us,” Zelensky emphasized.
According to him, what is needed is not a temporary lull, but a guaranteed end to the war, guaranteed security for Ukraine, and Russia’s responsibility for what it has done.