Ukrainian President Volodymyr <a href="http://www.time.news/european-council-decides-to-open-accession-negotiations-with-ukraine-and-moldova/" title="European Council decides to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova”>Zelenskyy has long stated that his country will fight until it frees all its territory from the Russian occupiers. According to him, this was the only way to achieve real peace. After two and a half years of fighting, however, Kyiv is beginning to reassess this strategy.
In Kyiv, there are “serious debates” about whether not to reconsider the goal from which President Zelenskyi did not want to back down under any circumstances, specifically whether not to temporarily withdraw from the plan to restore control over the entire Ukrainian territory.
“We believed that victory must mean the unconditional surrender of Putin’s Russia,” a Ukrainian government official, who did not want to be named, told German newspaper Der Spiegel.
However, he now calls it a “wrong view of victory”. An agreement on the end of the war will not be possible without some concessions, he believes. Zelensky also changed his position on direct talks with Russia. Although he previously ruled them out, he declared in September that they could still be renewed this year, writes ČTK.
The change in Kyiv’s stance is related to two events. The first is Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. The second is the uncertain outcome of the November US elections. “Whether it’s (Donald) Trump or (Kamala) Harris, the Americans will slowly but surely withdraw,” a government source was quoted as saying by the Ukrainian website Kyiv Independent.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has previously criticized Zelenskyi for not wanting to give up territory and thus ensure peace in the country. Conversely, Vice President Harris said that territorial concessions will not ensure peace. “These are proposals for capitulation that are dangerous and we will not accept them,” she said in September.
The opinion of the Ukrainian public is also gradually changing. In July, 55 percent of respondents were against sacrificing part of the territory in exchange for peace. It emerged from a survey by the Kyiv International Sociological Institute. Although this is still more than half of Ukrainians, in February 65 percent of respondents had the same opinion. Last December, it was even 74 percent.
Russia currently controls over twenty percent of the territory of Ukraine – in addition to Crimea, it also occupies at least part of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also spoke about a similar strategy. If Ukraine ensured peace in the remaining territory, this part, like West Germany once, could join NATO. However, the alliance, like Ukraine, would not recognize that the occupied territory belongs to Russia. She would hope to resolve disputes peacefully, writes the Financial Times.
However, according to Ukrainian political scientist Volodymyr Fessenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin might not agree with this strategy. “Ukraine’s neutral position is Putin’s main goal, which he will not give up easily. In fact, it is far more important to him than recognizing the occupied Ukrainian territories as Russian territory,” he is quoted as saying by the Kyiv Post server.
Video: “Help Ukraine.” Crimea shocked Putin’s appearance on TV, hackers were behind it (10/10/2024)
Hackers decided to prepare an unusual gift for Putin. | Video: @KamilKrilov via X