Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas will open space for major Russian maneuvers – Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas would allow Russia to occupy our most heavily fortified territories without losses.
Censor.NET reports that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in an interview with Rai Radio 1.
Withdrawal from Donbas is not a matter of compromise
Zelenskyy stressed that one cannot simply talk about withdrawing from Donbas as a matter of compromise. According to him, Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas would open the way for the Russian Federation to occupy our most heavily fortified territories without losses.
"Some say it would take a year and a half to build new fortifications. But everyone forgets: first of all, that is a year and a half. And even if it is less, any fortifications in the open field, rather than in urban development, are completely different things. That can never be such strong protection," the president noted.
Kharkiv and Dnipro under threat
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine’s withdrawal from Donbas would open space for major Russian maneuvers. They could move either toward Kharkiv or toward Dnipro, destroying cities. This would put two major cities under threat, cities that, incidentally, generate a large share of Ukraine’s GDP.
"So many people have died there... The morale of our army would definitely worsen. There would definitely be a split in society. The army, which certainly would not support such steps, on one side, and society on the other. And dividing society is exactly Putin’s main goal," he stressed.
In addition, 200,000 people now live in those parts of Donbas that Ukraine is defending: "To withdraw does not mean to preserve anything. You withdraw, and without any guarantees, you can lose everything. And that is a major risk."
Background
- As reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine cannot agree to give up its own territories in the course of peace arrangements with Russia, because such a step would contradict national legislation, public sentiment, and the actual situation in the temporarily occupied territories.
- Zelenskyy also told Reuters that the United States had tied its proposal on security guarantees to the condition that Kyiv hand over all of Donbas to Russia.
- In turn, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called false President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claim that Washington was ready to provide security guarantees in exchange for the withdrawal of the AFU from Donbas.
- The day before, Zelenskyy said that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will not stop at Donbas. The Russian army may try to seize major Ukrainian cities, including Dnipro and Kharkiv.
