Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged this Tuesday that “no one” knows when the war in Ukraine will end. and warned of the “strong impact” that an eventual victory by Donald Trump in the United States presidential election would have on the conflict.
“I think no one knows the answer. (…) Not even our commanders or our Western allies,” said Zelensky, when asked when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia will end.
The Ukrainian president made these statements at his big press conference at the end of the year, in which He proposed mobilizing “450,000 or 500,000 soldiers” due to the lack of Ukrainian army troops on the front.
The president also asked the head of the Army, Valeri Zaluzhni, for concrete “results” and “details” regarding troop mobilization.
(Also read: What plan does Europe have to overcome Hungary's blockade of Ukrainian aid?)
Zelensky also spoke about how the US presidential elections, scheduled for November 2024, could affect the war. He acknowledged that Republican Trump has “a different personality” from Joe Biden (Democrat) and this will be reflected in “a different policy.”
“If the policy of the next president, regardless of who it is, is different towards Ukraine, colder or more economical, then I think that will have a strong impact on the course of the war,” he warned.
However, he expressed his hope that Washington will not modify its military and economic support for Ukraine, essential for kyiv in the war with Russia.
The United States presidential elections are scheduled for early November 2024 and many analysts believe that they could represent a turning point in Western support for Ukraine.
Trump expressed on several occasions his reluctance about the aid that Washington gives to kyiv. “I trust that the United States will not betray us and will respect what we agreed upon,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president made this appearance after a year marked by the scant progress of the Ukrainian army in its counteroffensive, started in June.
However, Zelensky highlighted “the great victory” of the Ukrainian army in the Black Sea, where Kiev's troops forced Russian ships to retreat with their attacks and this facilitated the creation of maritime corridors so that Ukraine can continue exporting grain.
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I trust that the United States will not betray us and will respect what we agreed to
At the press conference, Zelensky also spoke about the possibility that Ukraine could give up part of the territory occupied by Russia in exchange for joining NATO. with the part of the country that he retains. “It's a fantasy,” said the Ukrainian head of state, who once again reaffirmed his faith in victory, despite acknowledging problems on the battlefield such as the lack of artillery ammunition or certain shortcomings in the recruitment process.
Questioned about a possible Ukrainian defeat in the war, Zelensky stated that he does not see it as possible, and compared the current situation with what Ukraine experienced at the beginning of the invasion, when Russia occupied “central regions” of the country and had managed to block the country's economy and logistics.
The Ukrainian president stressed that Ukraine is experiencing much less dramatic circumstances than those then, and insisted that Russia “has failed in all its objectives” in the year that ends, among which the one of taking over the entire Donbas region stood out.
Zelensky also compared Ukraine's situation heading into this winter to the same period last year, when the country was much more vulnerable to Russian airstrikes.
In this sense, the Ukrainian leader highlighted the importance of the arrival of Western air defense systems to reduce the exposure of Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian population to Russian bombings, and expressly highlighted the work of the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to provide Ukraine with this type of protection.
Zelensky also announced that the country will soon receive more Patriot air defense systems, which allow Ukraine to shoot down the Russian Kinzhal supersonic missiles.
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Another of the central themes of the press conference – the first held without being accompanied by foreign leaders since last February 24 – was the uncertainty surrounding the continuity of aid from the EU and the US.
Zelensky was “confident” that resolving both blockades is a matter of time. “We are working hard on that and I am confident that the United States will not fail us and will fulfill what we have agreed to,” Zelensky said of the blocking in the US Congress of the allocation of more than $60 billion proposed by the President Joe Biden on assistance to Ukraine.
One of the main arguments of those who oppose continuing to send aid to Ukraine is the high level of corruption in the country. In this sense, Zelensky expressed his conviction that “all public officials or figures must be moral examples,” while declaring that it is not possible, “in times of war,” to “fire all” those who do not behave accordingly. exemplary way. “Then elections would have to be held,” he added, “and it is not possible to have them in times of war.”
Although it has been ruled out that the presidential elections will take place in March of next year, as planned before the war, Zelensky has opened the door to make it possible. “With new legislation it may be possible to hold elections in times of war, perhaps, and (if the case arises) I will do everything possible to ensure that parliamentarians vote in favor of these laws,” he remarked.
What does Russia say about the course of the war?
On the contrary, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated this Tuesday that Russian troops now control a territory in Ukraine that is “five times larger” than the one occupied by the pro-Russians before the start of the war in February 2022.
“Russian troops liberated a territory that is five times larger than that occupied by the people's republics of Lugansk and Donetsk before the start of the special military operation,” Shoigu said at a meeting of the Russian Army's top leadership, chaired by the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin.
(Continue reading: 'There is no alternative but to help Ukraine defeat Russia,' says NATO chief)
The Russian president, for his part, assured that his Army has all the initiative in Ukraine when addressing the senior staff of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces.
“Assessing the situation on the ground, on the front, it can be safely stated that our troops have the initiative. In short, we do what we consider necessary, we do what we want,” Putin said during an event broadcast live on television public.
He stressed that the Ukrainian Army “suffers heavy losses and has largely exhausted its reserves.” “By the way, the myth about the invulnerability of Western military equipment also collapsed,” he said.
EFE AND AFP
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