I Won't Give Up Our Territory In Order To Have Peace With Russia - Ukraine's President Vows

Posted by Thandiubani on Fri 08th Jul, 2022 - tori.ng

Zelenskyy told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, July 7 that Ukraine conceding territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has vowed he will not give up any of its territory to Russia to end the war.

He made the vow during a recent interview.

Zelenskyy told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, July 7 that Ukraine conceding territory won't be part of any diplomatic negotiations to end the war.

"Ukrainians are not ready to give away their land, to accept that these territories belong to Russia. This is our land," Zelensky said on CNN's "The Situation Room."

"We always talk about that, and we are intending to prove it," he added.

Zelensky at the same time as one of his top Western allies, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, announced he would be resigning.

Speaking in Ukrainian via a translator, Zelensky said he was confident that Britain's policy toward Ukraine "will not be changing" even if the country's leadership is in tumult.

"He resigned not because he was in Ukraine. I think on the contrary, what Johnson has been doing for Ukraine was helping us a great deal. I consider him a friend of Ukraine, but I think his society also supported Ukraine in Europe. That's why I think the UK, it's on the side of good, on the side of Ukraine," Zelensky said.

"And I'm sure the UK policy toward Ukraine is not ... changing because of Boris Johnson's resignation. Our relations obviously gained a lot from Boris Johnson's understanding of things. We went through a lot of dramatic moments quite quickly. The help we needed was delivered rather quickly ... if (his resignation) will affect this speed of help I don't know. I will pray to God it won't be affecting that help."

Russia's war with Ukraine is now entering 5 months, with no sign of either side backing down soon.

Ukraine's early successes forced Russia to scale back its initial aims of taking over capital Kyiv, and Moscow's forces have now focused on taking territory in eastern Ukraine. Russian forces have now occupied most of the Luhansk region, outside of a few pockets of resistance, and are pressing toward cities in Donetsk.