Attempts by the West to push Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow after a series of major military victories by kyiv are “bizarre” and a demand for surrender, a key adviser to the Ukrainian presidency told AFP . During a surprise visit to kyiv on Saturday, new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new military aid, including anti-aircraft aid, assuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of his support “until Ukraine wins”, as A train linked the capital to Kherson for the first time since the beginning of the Russian invasion at the end of February.
- For the Ukrainian presidency, negotiating with Moscow means “capitulating”
“When you have the initiative on the battlefield, it’s a bit strange to receive proposals like: you can’t do everything militarily anyway, lead the negotiations,” said Mykhaïlo Podoliak. , an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, in an interview with AFP. “It means that the country that attacks, that recovers its territories, must capitulate to the country that is losing,” he added.
US media recently reported that some senior officials were beginning to encourage Ukraine to consider talks, which President Volodymyr Zelensky has so far refused without a prior withdrawal of Russian forces from all Ukrainian territory. “Military victory is probably not, in the proper sense of the term, achievable by military means”, thus estimated, on November 9, the highest American military official, General Mark Milley, considering that there is “a window of opportunity for negotiation”. The US chief of staff also stressed on Wednesday that US support had not diminished, but said that kyiv was in a good position to start talks, its soldiers managing to stand up to Russia.
- No official step from Moscow to negotiate peace
“We don’t have an official request from the Russian side for…negotiations,” said Andrii Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, speaking remotely at the Halifax International Security Forum. in Canada. Any negotiations that were not based on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders would be “not acceptable”, he added.
“Russia is now looking for a short truce, a respite to regain strength. This could be seen as the end of the war, but such a respite will only make the situation worse,” the Ukrainian leader said. “A real, lasting and honest peace can only come from the complete end of Russian aggression,” he added.
- In kyiv, Rishi Sunak reaffirms British support
“We will stay with you until Ukraine has won the peace and security it needs and deserves,” said in kyiv, alongside Ukrainian President Rishi Sunak, who came on a surprise visit. for the first time since taking office at the end of October. Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed this “meaningful and useful visit for both countries”. “With friends like you on our side, we have confidence in our victory,” he tweeted afterwards. The war in Ukraine has been going on for almost nine months, and the Russian invasion began on February 24.
Rishi Sunak announced new military aid amounting to 50 million pounds (57.4 million euros) and humanitarian aid of 16 million pounds (18.3 million euros). The military aid includes “125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter the deadly drones supplied by Iran (in Moscow, editor’s note), including dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic equipment”, according to a press release of Downing Street.