Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukraine will not give up any of its territory for peace with Russia.
Ceding Ukrainian breakaway regions for an end to Russia’s invasion is not for negotiations, Zelensky told CNN on Thursday. "We always talk about that, and we are intending to prove it.”
Zelenskyy also touched upon the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been a staunch supporter of the Ukrainian leader during the war.
Zelenskyy expressed confidence that the UK’s Ukraine policy "will not be changing.”
"He resigned not because he was in Ukraine. I think on the contrary, what Johnson has been doing for Ukraine was helping us a great deal. I consider him a friend of Ukraine, but I think his society also supported Ukraine in Europe. That's why I think the UK, it's on the side of good, on the side of Ukraine," Zelensky said.
He added: “I'm sure the UK policy toward Ukraine is not ... changing because of Boris Johnson's resignation. Our relations obviously gained a lot from Boris Johnson's understanding of things. We went through a lot of dramatic moments quite quickly. The help we needed was delivered rather quickly ... if (his resignation) will affect this speed of help I don't know. I will pray to G-d it won't be affecting that help."
Responding to a CNN report from last week in which White House officials were quoted as no longer having confidence Ukraine will be able to regain territories taken by Russian during the invasion, even with the US providing more advanced military technology, Zelenskyy nonetheless stood firm.
While Russian currently occupies "almost all the Luhansk region," the Ukrainian leader said his troops are "fighting on the outskirts of this region” in order to avoid casualties.
"I don't even understand what exactly they're controlling there. They ruined towns, school. They are the occupiers of the rubble?" Zelensky asked.
He also praised Sweden and Finland for becoming NATO members.
"It's not superficial, but deep understanding of the risks for these countries because of the aggressive attitude of Russia to sovereign countries," Zelensky said. "That's why we fully support their membership. The whole world is helping Ukraine, some doing humanitarian aid, some financial or military aid, both houses in the United States support us. The world is doing a lot, but it could have been easier – Ukraine could have been accepted as a NATO member. It would be much more straightforward than people imagine."
Zelenskyy said that the war could be over by the end of 2022 if more countries send Ukraine advanced military hardware.
"Our country will stay united and unified. If the powerful weaponry from our partners will be coming to us on-time, and if good luck and G-d will be on our side, we can achieve a lot of things before the end of the year and we can stop this war. We can stop the military part, at least, of this war,” he said.
He also invited US President Joe Biden to send a signal to Russia by visiting Kyiv.
"We would love to see President Biden in Ukraine. I heard that he supported the idea. There are some security moments, which stand in the way of his visit, we understand that," Zelensky said. "I truly think this would help the Ukrainians. Ukrainians support (the) United States, the trust of the Ukrainians to the United States is very high, same as to the UK and Poland and the Baltic states.”
