President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine cannot agree to territorial concessions to Russia, as this would only create a new springboard for Vladimir Putin to launch further aggression against Europe.
In an interview with the French publication Le Point, the head of state emphasized that concessions would not bring peace, but rather open the way for new attacks by the enemy.
“Putin seized Crimea to use it to capture the south. In 2014, he occupied part of the east to prepare for the complete occupation of the region. If we leave Donbas tomorrow, which we will not, we will leave the route to Kharkiv and Dnipro open,” the president said.
Zelensky called on Europeans to think more broadly and imagine what would happen if the Kremlin implemented its original plan and captured all of Ukraine. According to him, in that case, Russia would have used Ukrainian territories for new attacks.
The president stressed that Ukraine’s resilience determines where Europe’s eastern border will be.
“If Ukraine does not hold out, this border may end up in Poland or even Germany,” he said.