Zelenskyy: We will not allow Russia a second attempt to partition Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasised that Ukraine will not give Russia a second chance to divide its territory and that the war must end with a dignified peace.

Source: Zelenskyy’s evening address on 9 August

Quote: "Everyone can clearly see Putin’s tactics. He fears sanctions and is doing everything to bail on them. He wants to exchange a pause in the war, in the killings, for the legalisation of the occupation of our land – he wants to gain territorial spoils for the second time already. 

He was allowed to take Crimea, and this led to the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. He did not receive preventive punishment when he amassed a contingent on our borders. This led to the full-scale war and the occupation of even more parts of Ukraine. 

Now Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing the south of our Kherson Oblast, Zaporizhzhia, the entire territory of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts and Crimea. We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third. That is why we stand firm on clear Ukrainian positions. We must end the war with a dignified peace based on a clear and reliable security architecture. Our partners are ready to help us with this."

Details: Zelenskyy stressed that Russian ruler Vladimir Putin "is trying to sell the cessation of killings at the highest possible price".

"It is important that this does not mislead anyone. What is needed is not a pause in the killings, but a real, lasting peace. Not a ceasefire sometime in the future – months from now – but immediately. President Trump told me so, and I fully support it," Zelenskyy noted. 

He added that Ukraine had supported all proposals by US President Donald Trump that were voiced starting from February.

"We have arranged meetings with the Russian side and have ensured they were constructive – we have carried out exchanges and are preparing further ones. There is already greater understanding regarding the lists. We are counting on results. Likewise, results are needed at the leaders’ level. Dignified results. Results that will save lives, that the world will value, and for which it will be grateful to the leader who delivers them," Zelenskyy pointed out. 

Background:

• The US president revealed plans to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska on 15 August.
• The WSJ reported that Putin had told Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy, that Russia would halt military action in Ukraine in exchange for significant territorial concessions from Kyiv and international recognition of the occupied territories.
• On 9 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firmly declared that Ukrainians will not gift their land to the Russians.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!