Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not make territorial concessions to Russia to stop the war

This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy emphasized that security guarantees for Ukraine are essentially security guarantees for the entire Europe. "When we talk about security guarantees for us in Ukraine, in fact, these are security guarantees for the whole of Europe. This is already an obvious thing. Now it’s even commonplace," he said.

He urged to seek mechanisms to influence China so that Beijing uses its influence on Russia to end the war. "We must find a way to influence China so that they use their influence on Russia for the sake of ending the war," Zelenskyy noted.

The president stated that Russia will remain a supplier of raw materials to China and politically dependent on it, so it’s important to motivate Beijing to choose a path without war. "Russia will not stop being a supplier of raw materials to China and politically dependent on China. They have chosen this path and have gone too far on it," he said.

According to Zelenskyy, much depends on the strength of the USA and Europe and their ability to coordinate influences. "We need to find an answer on how to motivate China to take the path without war, and this largely depends on the strength of America and Europe," he added.

The head of state called the isolation of Russia one of the key pressure tools and urged the strengthening of sanctions and tariffs. "One of the key issues is the isolation of Russia, which must be maintained. Sanctions work, among other things, for this. Tariffs must work, among other things, for this. Russian assets should be confiscated for this purpose."

He stressed the need for principled policies and abandoning the notion that money or buying everything and everyone will solve the problem. "It is important for principle to work in political matters. Russia’s bet on money, on Putin’s belief that he can buy everything and everyone, should not work. Is it possible? Yes, if the world truly wants the war to end," the president said.

Zelenskyy firmly rejected the idea of territorial concessions as a way to end the war, calling it only a pause that will eventually lead to new attacks. "Giving Putin this or that land of Ukraine to stop the war - that will not happen. This is not a solution. It’s a pause. Like after 2008 with Georgia, like after 2014 with Crimea and Donetsk."

According to him, what is needed is not a temporary respite but a guaranteed end to the war, guaranteed security for Ukraine, and Russia’s accountability for its actions. "We need a guaranteed end to the war, guaranteed security for Ukraine, a guaranteed responsibility of Russia for what it has done against Ukraine."