Zelensky: Russia's attempt to occupy Kharkiv to become beginning of large-scale war
The Russian Federation may try to seize some territories of Ukraine under the pretext of "protecting" the Russian-speaking population, but an attempt to occupy large cities, in particular Kharkiv, will be the beginning of large-scale military operations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"Kharkiv, which is under Ukraine government control, could be occupied [by Russia]. Russia needs a pretext: They will say that they are protecting the Russian-speaking population. After the occupation and the annexation of Crimea, we understand that this is feasible and may happen. But I don't know what they are going to do because these are big cities. Kharkiv has over 1 million citizens. It's not going to be just an occupation; it's going to be the beginning of a large-scale war," Zelensky said in an interview with The Washington Post, answering the question whether he is concerned about the possibility of the Russians seizing certain parts of Ukraine and which ones.
When asked whether the Russians could try to seize territories to ensure land communication with Crimea and a reservoir to the north of Crimea to improve the peninsula's water supply, the head of the Ukrainian state replied: "I will say realistically if Russia decides to enhance their escalation, of course they are going to do this on those territories where historically there are people who used to have family links to Russia."
At the same time, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine does not forget about the occupied territories. "They [Russia] want us and the world to forget about Crimea. They have occupied it and nurtured the separatists in Donbas. They will be ready to give us Donbas if we forget about Crimea. No one is going to forget Crimea," he said.
Zelensky also stated that it was impossible to establish a government controlled by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. Answering the question whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to establish a "more friendly government" in Ukraine, he said: "To put in place a government that would be completely controlled by Russia would be impossible. Even if they do, this would be the shortest-lived government because people will simply not accept it."
"Maybe Putin thinks that the majority of Ukrainians support him and his policies. I think this is a big mistake to think like that," the president of Ukraine said.
He also stated that he did not change his views after being elected to the post of head of state. Commenting on the expectations of the Russian leadership that it will be easy to deal with him after being elected president of Ukraine, Zelensky said: "I haven't changed. I wanted to have a neighborly conversation [with Russia] to say, yes, we have a war going on, but let's have a quick fix. However, I wasn't prepared to betray my country."