A defiant Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine will never concede any other territory and his people will not accept anything less than the defeat of Russia.
In a new interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier the Ukrainian president explained what a true victory for his war-torn country would look like.
‘A victory of truth means a victory for Ukraine and Ukrainians,’ Zelensky told the Special Report host. ‘The question is when it will end. That is a deep question. It’s a painful question. Besides victory, the Ukrainian people will not accept any outcome.’
When Baier asked if Zelensky was willing to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia to secure a peace deal, Zelensky held firm.
In a new interview Zelensky said he was not willing to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia to secure a peace deal
The bodies of civilians killed by Russian shelling are gathered to be transferred to a mortuary in Irpin, Ukraine, on March 31
Ukrainian soldiers collect bodies of civilians killed by the Russian forces at the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, March 31, 2022
‘We do not trade our territory,’ Zelensky told Baier. ‘The question of territorial integrity and sovereignty is out of discussion.’
Over a month into the invasion Zelensky reiterated his desire for Ukraine to join NATO.
‘It’s hard for us to talk about NATO because NATO doesn’t want to admit us,’ Zelensky said. ‘I think it’s a mistake because if we join NATO, we make NATO much stronger. We are not a weak state. We are not proposing to make us stronger at the expense of NATO…We are an addition, we are the locomotive. I think we are one of the important components of the European continent.’
His interview comes as Russian forces have seized 14 tons of supplies destined for the besieged city of Mariupol, where thousands of desperate Ukrainians are dangerously low on food, water and other vital supplies.
Few humanitarian buses have managed to get people out of the city, but many have escaped in their cars – or even on foot – often under fire. The Ukrainian government said only 631 people were able to get out of the city in private cars in the last day.
Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers carry a body of a civilian killed by the Russian forces over the destroyed bridge in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 31, 2022
Vladimir Galinkov packs his belongings to evacuate his damaged apartment after the building was hit by pieces of a destroyed Russian missile
The ceiling of an apartment is completely collapsed in the tower block which was hit by the remains of a Russian missile shot down over Kyiv
The city has been the scene of some of the worst suffering of the war.
Kyiv has said that at least 5,000 people have been killed in the city, but that number could be as high as 20,000, according to one Ukrainian official.
Tens of thousands have managed to get out in the past few weeks by way of humanitarian corridors, reducing the population from a pre-war 430,000 to an estimated 100,000 by last week, but other relief efforts have been thwarted by continued Russian attacks.
Zelensky in his latest address warned that ‘there will be battles ahead’ as he claimed Russian withdrawals from the north and center of Ukraine are being used as a cover for troops to regroup and step up attacks in the south east.
‘We know their intentions,’ he added. ‘We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them in order to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us.’
Zelenksy also warned his people that retreating Russian forces were creating ‘a complete disaster’ outside the capital by leaving mines across ‘the whole territory’, even around homes and dead bodies.
He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened and the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil.
Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow’s claim is confirmed, it would be the war’s first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks.’
Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv.
Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: ‘They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed.
‘There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.’
His comments follow the bodies of at least thirteen dead civilians being discovered yesterday on the same stretch of road where Russian soldiers were caught on video executing a young couple in aerial drone footage that shocked the world at the start of March.
And as Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops near Kyiv, they are uncovering more evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin’s soldiers – with the mayor of one city claiming 300 civilians were killed in the last month.
Pictures from Irpin on Friday showed soldiers and volunteers carrying body bags down a ruined stretch of road. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete and loaded into vans.
Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow’s claim is confirmed, it would be the war’s first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: ‘Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks.’
Russia continued withdrawing some of its ground forces from areas around Kyiv after saying earlier this week it would reduce military activity near the Ukrainian capital and the northern city of Chernihiv.
Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation: ‘They are mining the whole territory. They are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed.
‘There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers.’
His comments follow the bodies of at least thirteen dead civilians being discovered yesterday on the same stretch of road where Russian soldiers were caught on video executing a young couple in aerial drone footage that shocked the world at the start of March.
And as Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops near Kyiv, they are uncovering more evidence of war crimes carried out by Putin’s soldiers – with the mayor of one city claiming 300 civilians were killed in the last month.
Pictures from Irpin on Friday showed soldiers and volunteers carrying body bags down a ruined stretch of road. About a dozen bodies were zipped up in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete and loaded into vans.
Some experts believe the Mariupol’s fall is imminent after Russian forces reached its centre this week, while feared Chechen soldiers have been seen prowling its streets. (Pictured: Pro-Russian armoured vehicle moves through Mariupol on Friday)
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