Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK said that Ukraine will not negotiate with Putin from a position of weakness. He said that “the only decision is that the Russians should flee from Ukraine.” In a survey in Ukraine, the citizens were asked if there was a nuclear attack whether to stop fighting, and 82% said “no”.
The ambassador of Ukraine in Great Britain sent a harsh message to Russia through the British newspaper “Daily Express”. Vadim Pristaikou said that his countrymen will fight to the last man before they enter into any negotiations from a position of weakness. He sent a blunt and distinctly undiplomatic message to the Russian elite, words that the British newspaper described as “unfit to print.”
He was skeptical of reports that Ukraine might give up Crimea in peace talks, insisting that Russia must first extricate itself from all Ukrainian territory. He said: “We cannot negotiate with people who came and killed our people and destroyed our nation. For us, the decision is that the Russians should stay away from our lands. So we have to fight to the last of them or unfortunately to the last of us.”
He said he was encouraged by NATO’s response to President Putin’s nuclear threat and the recent Russian threat to send nuclear weapons to Belarus. He said: “The two countries in the world that have first-hand experience of a nuclear catastrophe are Japan in World War II and Ukraine because of Chernobyl. Trust me, we know exactly what they are threatening. But what would you expect us to do, stop fighting because Putin continues to play this card?”
He also said: “In a survey in Ukraine, the citizens were asked if there was a nuclear attack whether to stop fighting, and 82% said no, we are fighting, we have no choice.”
Ukrainian determination to fight in the face of increasing casualties, Ambassador Pristaiko was asked how many Ukrainian civilian soldiers died in the war. He said: “It was our policy from the beginning not to discuss our losses. When the war is over we will admit it, I think it will be a terrible number. But here we are again different from the Russians, all Ukrainian lives are dear to us, it seems that the Russian elite does not care how many of their soldiers were killed.”