Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Russia must withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory to the position held before the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia must withdraw to its pre-invasion positions from February 24, 2022.

In an interview with Newsmax, he hoped that Donald Trump, with European backing, could end the war and influence Putin.

Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine will not accept any negotiated settlement that excludes its involvement.

He also suggested that Trump needs a diplomatic success to differentiate his approach from Biden’s. However, there is no indication that Russia is willing to retreat.

  • @RabbitBBQEnglish
    15•5 days ago

    For someone that demanded the 2014 borders for the past few years, this is a concession. Odds are that Putin wants all of Ukraine even if Russia has to stop where they are for a few years and repeat the 2014 playbook. It’s very surprising Russia hasn’t been able to push past the current positions. However, they are close to taking certain important cities and the highways.

    Another possibility is if Ukraine has elections and chooses another pro Russian president. Then you would have the largest army in Europe equipped with Western weapons potentially switch sides and on to other former USSR states.

    • @[email protected]English
      20•5 days ago

      There is zero chance that after the last 11 years (and especially the last 3)ukraine will elect a pro Russian president in the next 3 generations. The pro Russian oblasts (the ones in the east) have either been annexed or obliterated, there’s little sympathy left for Russia. If before the war there was a 45-45 split, I’m pretty sure it’s 85-10 now.

      • @PeckEnglish
        0•4 days ago

        Didn’t take that long for Vietnam US relationship to settle down.

        • @[email protected]English
          1•4 days ago

          I think the circumstances are different. The US didn’t rape and pillage at the scale of Russia. And when something criminal was discovered, the rapists didn’t receive medals on TV. And the Vietnamese haven’t voted for an openly Pro-US government, to the extent of their voting ability.

          • @PeckEnglish
            -1•3 days ago

            Haha. Are you serious? I swear to God, propaganda makes people so dumb it’s unbelievable.

    • @[email protected]English
      -8•5 days ago

      Odds are that Putin wants all of Ukraine

      That doesn’t make any sense. Russia knows it can’t control Ukrainian-majority areas in any meaningful way. This war isn’t a war of annexation and expansionism, it’s a proxy war between Russia and the US in which Russia is showing its neighbouring countries that it won’t simply allow its influence sphere to disintegrate.

      • @jordanlundMEnglish
        4•4 days ago

        Not according to Putin, who has stated multiple times that Ukraine isn’t really a country and Russia owns it.

        https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/

        “Ukraine is not even a state! What is Ukraine? A part of its territory is [in] Eastern Europe, but a[nother] part, a considerable one, was a gift from us!” In his March 18, 2014 speech marking the annexation of Crimea, Putin declared that Russians and Ukrainians “are one people. Kiev is the mother of Russian cities. Ancient Rus’ is our common source and we cannot live without each other.” Since then, Putin has repeated similar claims on many occasions. As recently as February 2020, he once again stated in an interview that Ukrainians and Russians “are one and the same people”, and he insinuated that Ukrainian national identity had emerged as a product of foreign interference."