Zelensky says it is “unacceptable” to offer Russia concessions to stop the war in Ukraine

Last update:08 Nov 2024, 09:16 IST

Ukraine and many in the West fear that any deal that rewards Putin would embolden the Kremlin leader and lead to more aggression.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (AP Photo)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday it would be “unacceptable” for Europe to offer concessions to the Kremlin to stop its invasion of Ukraine, after Moscow called on the West to enter into direct talks on ending the war.

Kiev is scrambling to increase pressure on its allies for more support in the fight against Moscow after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election this week raised doubts about future US assistance.

Trump has boasted that he could end the conflict within hours and has repeatedly criticized US aid to Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede more territory in the east and south as a precondition for peace talks, while Kiev has repeatedly ruled out ceding land in exchange for peace.

Ukraine and many in the West fear that any deal that rewards Putin would embolden the Kremlin leader and lead to more aggression.

Zelensky rejects “concessions”

Addressing European leaders at a summit in Hungary, Zelensky criticized those pressuring him to give in to some of Putin’s tough demands.

“There was a lot of talk about the need to give in to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions,” Zelensky said in an address.

“It is unacceptable for Ukraine and unacceptable for all of Europe,” he added.

Zelensky also dismissed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s call for a “ceasefire” on the battlefield as “dangerous” and “irresponsible”.

Orban, the EU leader with the warmest relations with the Kremlin, previously said a truce could “give space and time for the warring parties to communicate and start negotiating peace”.

Zelensky also accused some European leaders, without specifying which ones, of having “strongly” pushed Ukraine to compromise.

“We need enough weapons, not support in talks. Hugging Putin won’t help. Some of you have been embracing it for 20 years, and things are only getting worse,” Zelensky said.

But he revealed that he had discussed “military assistance” with French President Emmanuel Macron in Budapest.

Russia urges negotiations

Russia has previously demanded that Kiev’s allies enter into negotiations with Moscow if they want to stop attacks on Ukrainians.

The head of Russia’s Security Council, Sergey Shoigu, said that the West faces a choice between opening direct talks with Moscow or the continued “destruction” of Ukraine’s population.

“Now that the situation in the theater of war is not in Kiev’s favor, the West faces a choice,” Shoigu said at a meeting with defense officials from other former Soviet states.

“Let’s continue funding (Kiev) and the destruction of the Ukrainian population or recognize the current realities and start negotiations,” the former defense minister said.

They were among the first comments by a Russian official since it was confirmed that Trump had been elected president of the United States.

Russian advances

Zelensky urged caution over Trump’s claim that he could end the conflict within hours.

“Today I think President Trump really wants a quick fix. But that doesn’t mean it will happen,” he told reporters in Budapest.

The Ukrainian leader said a quick deal could mean “losses” for Kiev.

Meanwhile, in remarks at the Valdai forum in Sochi, Putin reiterated that Moscow was open to talks but said the parties to them must recognize “today’s realities”.

Russian officials have repeatedly used such language to refer to Moscow’s military control of areas of Ukrainian territory seized during the invasion.

Putin said any initiative presented by Trump would deserve attention, as he praised the president-elect as a “courageous” man.

He congratulated Trump on his election victory and said he was “ready” to talk to him.

Trump said he, too, is open to some kind of conversation.

“I think we will talk,” he told NBC News in an interview.

Zaporizhzhia strikes

Zelensky previously said that without US help, Ukraine would lose the war.

Its heavily manned and outnumbered army is already on the back foot in the eastern Donbas region, where Russian forces have been slowly advancing for months.

Moscow announced Thursday that its forces had taken control of Kreminna Balka, a village that had a pre-war population of fewer than 50 people in the industrial Donetsk region, where Ukrainian defenses have been repeatedly repulsed.

Meanwhile, Russian attacks on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, including a hospital and residential buildings, killed at least four people on Thursday.

Another 40 people, including at least four children, were injured, Ukraine’s emergency services said.

Images released by officials showed emergency workers pulling victims from the rubble as they prevented local residents from trying to reach the remains of a building, reduced to a pile of rubble.

Ukrainian media reported that authorities in the Donetsk region were preparing to announce mandatory evacuations from seven other villages in that region, which the Kremlin claimed in 2022 were part of Russia.

Two people were killed in bombings there on Thursday, the local governor said.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)