In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on July 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ruled out any peace negotiations while Russian troops are on Ukrainian territory. “Freezing the conflict with the Russian Federation means a pause that gives the Russian Federation a break for rest,” he said. “They will not use this pause to change their geopolitics or to renounce their claims on the former Soviet republics.” Zelenskyy’s delusion is that there’s still some kind of a Ukrainian military that, if provided with enough of the right weapons by NATO, can drive the Russians out.
Zelenskyy also was supportive of the economic chaos being wrecked on Europe and the U.S. by the U.S./EU sanctions. “I am thankful to the people there. It is hard for them, they now have high prices, they suffer discomfort because of this war, because of the crises manufactured by the Russians,” he claimed. “But it is a matter of values.” Diplomatic concessions to Moscow today might stabilize the markets somewhat, but would only provide a temporary respite and boomerang in the future, he claimed.
The Journal noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin this week accused Zelenskyy of not wanting a diplomatic solution to the conflict. In reply, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians believe all territories must be liberated first and only then can negotiations begin: “The faster we do it, the fewer will die.”
