15:18 17.05.2022

Ceasefire without withdrawal of Russian troops impossible - Podoliak

3 min read
Ceasefire without withdrawal of Russian troops impossible - Podoliak

A ceasefire in Ukraine without the withdrawal of Russian troops is impossible, adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podoliak said.

"We hear [from Western partners]: let's cease fire. Without the withdrawal of Russian troops. And how is that? That is, we will cease fire at the position where the Russian military stands today - that's what they actually wanted. Because then they will control part of the territory of Ukraine. But we don't need it. The Russian world is poorly perceived in Ukraine. Today is not 2014. Our people simply hate the Russians. Especially in the eastern and southern regions. And we cannot give away parts of our territories where thoroughly pro-Ukrainian people live. We have to release them all. And these regions will be liberated without fail," Podoliak said on the air of the telethon on Tuesday.

According to him, European partners must understand that the cost of the war in Ukraine is very high, a large number of civilians have been killed.

"Not just killed, but cynically tortured. Because this is the philosophy of the Russian Federation: to come to Ukraine and cynically kill, en masse, rape. Now it is unacceptable for us to give something to the Russian Federation and pretend that it was some kind of easy war," he said.

Also, Podoliak noted, the war in Ukraine is a full-scale big European war.

"If someone in Europe does not understand this yet, this is not Ukraine's problem. And the Russian Federation will not be able to stop this war in the way that the Europeans would like... They think that it is possible to return to February 23 and live as before. But it won't be like that... It's impossible to give something away so that Putin can save face. This is not a bargain. The war will not stop if we give something away... And this must be understood in Europe. These are unacceptable proposals," he said.

The adviser to the head of the President's Office expressed confidence that the pro-Russian lobbying network in Europe, which "is gradually beginning to raise its head", will lose politically and historically.

"There will be opposition to pro-Russian lobbyists in Europe, because public pressure on political parties in Europe today is very powerful. They understand that Russia should not exist in the form as it is today, and they clearly tell their elites: stop playing behind-the-scenes with Russia," he said.

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