Zelenskyy warns Donbas withdrawal would divide and weaken Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen)
Ukraine’s withdrawal from remaining parts of the Donbas, as demanded by the Kremlin in peace talks, could split society and weaken the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, stressing in an interview with the BBC that Donbas is more than just territory on Feb. 23.
Asked why Ukraine cannot give up 20% of Donetsk Oblast in exchange for a ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said doing so would split society.
“I look at this differently. I don’t see it simply as land. I see it as betrayal — a weakening of our positions, abandoning hundreds of thousands of our people who live there. That’s how I see it. And I am convinced that such a ‘withdrawal’ would split our society,” he said.
He added that Ukraine is not only not losing the war but will emerge from it victorious, and said he opposes withdrawing from strategically important positions that Russia has failed to occupy.
Zelenskyy also said he believes Vladimir Putin has already started World War III, adding that the world must apply military and economic pressure on Russia to force it to retreat.
“I believe Putin has already started it. The question is how much territory he will be able to seize and how to stop him… Russia wants to impose a different way of life on the world and change the lives people have chosen for themselves,” Zelenskyy said.
He added that Putin will not stop in the Donbas and will launch a new offensive after a pause.
“Probably this — the withdrawal from the territories of Donetsk Oblast we hold — would satisfy him for a certain time… he needs a pause… but once he recovers, our European partners say it could take three to five years. In my view, he could recover in no more than a couple of years. Where would he go next? We don’t know, but the fact that he will want to continue [the war] is certain,” Zelenskyy said.
On Feb. 20, Zelenskyy rejected any withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbas as part of a peace deal with Russia.
On Feb. 14, he called proposals for Ukraine to leave Donetsk Oblast dangerous, saying Russia’s real ambitions extend beyond Oblast.
On Feb. 17, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian people would reject any peace agreement involving a unilateral withdrawal from Donbas and handover of Oblast to Russia.
On Feb. 18, The New York Times, citing military officials and Western intelligence, reported that Putin is prepared to continue the war against Ukraine for another two years to gain full control of the Donbas.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Ukraine’s position on territorial issues has not changed and that Kyiv will not agree to cede Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts to Russia.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, is insisting on the so-called Anchorage formula, which calls for Ukraine’s Defense Forces to withdraw from the Donbas and for current front lines in other eastern and southern oblasts of Ukraine to be frozen.
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