Zelenskyy: Territorial concessions by Ukraine will open the way for Putin to attack Europe

Ukraine’s territorial concessions will only lead to Putin using the captured territories as a springboard for an attack on Europe if it fails to become strong.

This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Le Point.

The head of state drew attention to the opinion of certain media outlets, which suggested that if the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdraw from the eastern regions of the country, peace will be restored.

Zelenskyy reminded that Putin invaded Crimea (in 2014, - ed.) to turn it into a springboard and encircle the south of our country, that is, to prepare for another offensive.

"In 2014, he (Putin, - ed.) invaded part of the eastern part of our country to use it as a springboard for the full occupation of these regions. If tomorrow we somehow abandon Donbas, which will not happen, we will open an unprotected space for Putin near the one-and-a-half-million-strong city of Kharkiv. He will also seize the industrial center of Dnipro, and this will open new opportunities for him," the president said.

In Zelenskyy’s opinion, if Putin had succeeded in his initial plan to capture all of Ukraine, he would have used it as a springboard for invading Europe. Whether the Russian dictator succeeds in this depends on how strong Europe will be.

"If Europe is strong, he will likely do nothing, but if it is weak, then it will suffer from Russia’s actions," the head of state said.

The President of Ukraine also recalled that the distance between Moscow and Paris is less than 3,000 kilometers, while the missiles Russia uses to shell Ukraine have a range of 2,500 kilometers.

According to him, Ukraine already has missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers in its arsenal, meaning that war stimulates technological development "for us, in Europe, but also in Russia."

"Thanks to this technological progress, there are no longer ’distant wars.’ Believe me, in two years, the Russians will have many missiles with a range of 5,000 kilometers. The sea will not protect anyone, the ocean will not protect anyone. In this context, the weapons Russia uses today are not so different from nuclear carriers," Zelenskyy said.

He reminded that the fate of Ukraine will determine where this eastern border will lie. If the country does not hold, this border will run through Poland, or even Germany.

"Once, Europe was divided in this way. The eastern border of West Germany was the border of the Western world. Today, everything depends on us. How much will we allow Russian ambitions to run rampant?" Zelenskyy added.