According to the president, hundreds of Russian soldiers and mercenaries were captured during the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces. However, more defenders of Ukraine are captured by the Russians.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi published the full version of the interview with Reuters, in which he talked about the situation in Izyum, Russian energy terrorism, the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, readiness to exchange prisoners and plans for the deoccupation of Crimea.
< strong>“I don't know how many thousands of people died in Izyum…”
The exact number of those who died as a result of the Russian occupation of Izyum is currently unknown – a certain number of people remain under the rubble houses that “simply collapsed” from airstrikes, the president said. Debris analysis is still ongoing.
Zelensky called on the United States and the free world to respond to the crimes of the Russians.
“We appeal to the world with the demand to recognize Russia as a terrorist state or a state sponsor of terrorism. I would very much like the United States to react strongly now as leaders of democracy in the world and leaders of support for Ukraine,” he noted.
The president assumed that Russia, commenting on the situation in Izyum, would resort to proven tactics – will deny it and call it “staging”, as was already the case in Buchi. However, she will not succeed.
About the counteroffensive and the help of allies
Zelensky also spoke about the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the president, it is very important to preserve the initiative intercepted by Ukraine. For this, our country will need more weapons, so the president called on the partners to “maintain unity” in this matter.
“The initiative, which has now been seized by the Ukrainian side, cannot be lost. We must move forward, step by step deoccupying our and only our territory,” he noted.
Answering a question about which weapons played a decisive role in the counteroffensive, Zelenskyi emphasized that all the weapons provided by the allies came in handy, but are used for different tasks.
“The most important thing is that those calculations regarding the de-occupation of our territories, the number and the quality of the means coincided with the terms of their delivery. You can start something expecting the weapons to arrive on time according to your plan, and they don't for one reason or another. This slows down the processes,” the president emphasized.
Zelenskyi also noted the importance of exchange of information between Ukrainian intelligence and partner intelligence during preparation for a counteroffensive. However, he noted that “Ukrainians are fighting on the battlefield”.
Despite the successful and quick counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region, it is still too early to talk about the end of the war, the president stressed.
On the exchange of prisoners
Zelensky admitted that there are more Ukrainians in captivity in Russia than Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The president considers the counteroffensive a good opportunity to replenish the exchange fund.
“I will say frankly – the Russians have more of our prisoners than we have – Russian soldiers or mercenaries. Our task is to constantly replenish the fund in order to return our own,” he noted.
According to Zelenskyi, during the counteroffensive, Ukraine replenished the exchange fund with hundreds of Russian military personnel. They are treated according to the terms of the Geneva Conventions.
On energy terrorism of the Russian Federation
Volodymyr Zelenskyi also said that as a result of the recent Russian missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, one and a half million subscribers were left without electricity.
“One and a half million subscribers is not only about people. Although one and a half million people without heat, water and electricity, without anything, without life, it's scary,” he noted.
Russia continues to occupy the Zaporizhzhia NPP, according to Zelenskyi, 500 Russian military personnel are stationed there today, all six power units of the NPP are stopped.
This limits Ukraine's ability to generate electricity for export to Poland, Romania, Moldova and other countries. to help Europe in the difficult winter of 2022-2023.
In Zelenskyi's opinion, such actions of the Russian Federation are explained by a state policy aimed at terror.
The President of Ukraine thanked the IAEA mission for the fact that they , despite pressure from Russia, “made fair conclusions that only complete demilitarization will ensure the safety of the station“. Zelenskyi's dissatisfaction is only caused by not allowing Ukrainian and Western journalists to the station.
Will Russia risk using nuclear weapons
The aggressor country has repeatedly threatened with nuclear weapons . If its demands are not fulfilled, in particular, by Ukraine. The fear of its use, in particular, was explained by NATO's refusal to close the skies over Ukraine.
However, Zelensky believes that if the Russian Federation decides to move from words to action, it will be possible to stop it.
“This is a matter of destroying the Earth. I cannot imagine how the special services, intelligence agencies of the world can give Russia even a chance to think about this. It seems to me that this will not happen, but we cannot definitively predict anything with this state,” the president noted.
He emphasized that under no circumstances should we negotiate with the aggressor under the pressure of blackmail using nuclear weapons. Because such negotiations will pave the way for the Third World War.
“There can be no dialogue with people who threaten with nuclear weapons. We need to think about how to live in a world without such people,” Zelensky added.
“The war will not end without the return of Crimea”
Answering the question about what should be the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine should return all its territories, including Crimea.
“There is no other chance – we must de-occupy the territories,” the president emphasized. At the same time, Zelenskyi suggested that the return of the peninsula can take place diplomatically, not in a military way.
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