13 million refugees have left Ukraine/Radio Liberty
< strong _ngcontent-sc129="">About 13 million Ukrainians have left Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. They cannot return to the occupied territories, so prolonging the war is unacceptable, as are compromises with the aggressor country.
Compromises with Russia are unacceptable
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the presidential office, stressed that no one is interested in this war, but Ukraine is not going to compromise with Russia, as some Western partners suggest.
I want to full understanding that nothing is over yet. Therefore, we must continue to fight on all fronts. Russia spends huge resources to prove to the world the main thing: supposedly Russians have the right to kill Ukrainians. And not to receive a full punishment for this, – said Podolyak.
According to him, some political leaders offer Ukraine a ceasefire, a frozen conflict and the surrender of part of the territory for the sake of peace.
However, this is unacceptable, primarily because Ukraine values its people, not just its territory. Since the beginning of the war, 13 million Ukrainians have left, and the Ukrainian government is counting on their return.
Since the beginning of the war, 13 million Ukrainians have already left their homes. These people will not return to live in the occupied territories or in the “grey” war zone. Because it's risky. This means that we will not have an economy. Are those who call for a freeze on the war going to support our settlers for life, Podolyak asked rhetorically.
But he added that he had serious doubts about this. He also noted that millions more Ukrainians were under occupation, and “we will not allow anyone to trade their fate, sitting in a comfortable chair in a non-belligerent country.”
Ukraine will not trade territories
To avoid ambiguity, he stressed that Ukraine would not participate in such discussions. “For we do not trade our citizens, territories, or sovereignty.”
It's a clear red line. Ukrainian society has paid a terrible price and will not allow anyone to take even a step in this direction – not a single government, not a single country. Any hint of this from any of the partners will receive a principled reaction, Podolyak assures.
We will not agree to Minsk-3
The adviser also stressed that there can be no speeches about freezing the conflict.
- Firstly, any freeze is a war delayed in time. Larger, bloodier and more prepared by the aggressor.
Podolyak stressed that Ukraine had corrected the mistakes and drew conclusions from the Minsk agreements and therefore would not go to Minsk-3″.
- Second, as he emphasizes, geopolitical “strategists” talk about territory, but no one talks about people.
He is sure that any war ends at the table talks, and this one will not be an exception, but it will become possible when the parties are ready to negotiate.
Shameful statements about “treaties” with Russia
Recall that former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the summit in Davos, he said that Ukraine should give up part of the territories to Russia in order to achieve peace with Russia.
Emmanuel Macron became famous for the preliminary shameful statements “cede territories” He proposed this to Vladimir Zelensky in order to “save face” to Vladimir Putin.
