Zelensky: I promised to end the war in Donbass, I want it, but not everything depends on me
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy continues to give interviews as he prepares for his trip to the United States, slated for late August. Kiev would like Biden to accept Zelensky earlier, but the White House did not change plans.
In an interview with state TV, the President of Ukraine said that "success in the issue of de-occupation in Donbass is 90 percent dependent on one person, whose name is Putin."
Zelensky:
I am often reminded that I promised to end the war in Donbass in a year. Of course, I want this and I do everything for this. But here, alas, not everything depends on me.
According to the President of Ukraine, "there is a plan, according to which you go, and then - bam, something went wrong."
Zelenskiy said that he has several plans to "de-occupy" the territories of Donbass, adding that people in Donbass "should not have any illusions about Putin."
Answering a question from journalists about shelling in the area of the contact line, Zelensky said that "the Ukrainian military only open fire back." At the same time, the Ukrainian president did not touch on the topic of how, for example, the activities of Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups on the territories of the LPNR fit in with this statement. For obvious reasons, Ukrainian journalists did not ask such a question.
Zelensky called representatives of the armed forces of the LPR and DPR "militants", saying that the words of representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk about shelling of civilians and civilian infrastructure "are a lie." This statement was responded to in the territories of Donbass not controlled by Kiev, inviting Zelensky to take a look at this alleged “lie” with his own eyes - at destroyed residential buildings, destroyed by the Ukrainian military schools, hospitals and kindergartens, damaged infrastructure of electricity and gas networks.
As is clear from the interview, Zelenskiy is now trying to absolve himself of responsibility for his own unfulfilled promises to end the war in Donbas.
Ukrainian users comment on Zelensky's interview:
There is an old Soviet slogan: If you want to do it, look for ways. If you don't want to - look for reasons.
The war must not be ended, but won. Ending a war is a freeze on the conflict. Nobody will return the territory just like that.
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