“I think that Putin already (the third world war, note editorial office) started. The question is how much territory it can occupy and how to stop it… Russia wants to impose a different way of life on the world and change the lives that people have chosen themselves,” said Zelensky in an interview with the BBC.
Regarding Russia’s demand that Ukraine give up the Donetsk region in the east of the country, which it still defends, as well as other territory in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions in the southeast of the country, Zelenskyy said that it is not only about territory, but also about the abandonment of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who live there, and about the weakening of Ukrainian positions.
“I’m sure that this withdrawal would divide our society. I see it as an abandonment – a weakening of our positions, an abandonment of hundreds of thousands of our people who live there,” he said. He is convinced that the concession would only satisfy the Russian president for a while before he regained his strength, so it could take at most a few years before Putin would continue the war.
“I believe that stopping Putin today and preventing him from occupying Ukraine is a victory for the whole world. Because Putin will not stop only in Ukraine,” he said.
He flatly denied that Ukraine was losing the war. “Are we losing? Of course not!” he claimed. According to him, it is only a matter of time before Ukraine regains all the territories occupied by Russia. He would consider the return to the internationally recognized borders of 1991 a victory for justice.
As for security guarantees, he wants them for 30 years and to be approved by the US Congress, explaining why in the interview. “We are all presidents for a certain period. We want (US security) guarantees for 30 years. Political elites will change, leaders will change,” he said, adding: “Presidents change, but institutions remain.”
