(Kyiv) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he was “not ready” for talks with Russia unless Moscow withdraws its troops from Ukraine.
“ [Les États-Unis] know that I am not ready to talk with terrorists, because their word is worthless,” Volodymyr Zelensky said on NBC.
The Ukrainian president was commenting on reports that US and European officials have discussed negotiations with his government to end the war with Russia.
He also spoke after a senior Ukrainian commander said this week that the two armies were trapped in a war of attrition and positions.
“For now, I have no relationship with the Russians, and they know my position,” he said, adding that “they must leave our territory, and only then the world can start the diplomacy”.
The conflict is in a “difficult situation”, but not at an impasse, according to him.
“On the front line, it’s no secret, we don’t have air defense,” he recalled. “This is why Russia controls the skies. If they control all of the skies, we can’t move forward quickly – until we have air defense.”
The front line, more than 1000 km long, has barely moved for almost a year despite the counter-offensive that Ukraine has been waging since June to try to liberate the occupied territories in the east and south.
Ukraine to investigate soldiers killed by missile during ceremony
Ukraine announced on Sunday the opening of an investigation into the death of a group of soldiers possibly killed on Friday by a Russian missile attack during a decorations ceremony.
More than 20 Ukrainian soldiers from an assault brigade died on Friday in the attack, which took place in the Zaporizhia region, the online newspaper reports Ukrainska Pravda.
AFP was not immediately able to verify the circumstances of the attack.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov called the incident a “tragedy” and ordered a thorough investigation.
“We must do everything we can to protect our people and give honest answers to the families and friends of fallen soldiers,” he said Saturday evening.
The Ukrainian military confirmed that a number of soldiers had been killed, without specifying the number.
“On November 3, the enemy carried out insidious attacks in the direction of Zaporizhia,” the Ukrainian army commented on Saturday.
“He notably fired an Iskander-M missile at the personnel of the 128e mountain assault brigade, killing the soldiers and causing injuries of varying severity to residents of the region,” the army added.
A Ukrainian soldier wrote on social media that 22 people from the brigade had been killed and that they were gathered for a ceremony to present military decorations.
“Everyone writes that “heroes died”. However, it would be more appropriate to write “Heroes became victims,” said soldier Ivan Savytskyy.
The Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine, where the soldiers died, will observe three days of mourning starting Monday, local governor Victor Mykyta said.
“Our heroes are alive as long as their memory and their actions endure,” he said on Sunday.