Ukraine and the free world should definitely not change their goals and exchange their values for some compromises, if the dictatorship is afraid to admit a mistake and tempts with a break in the battles, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said, speaking via video link at the Madeleine Albright Democracy Awards ceremony.

"On February 23, 2022, Ms. Madeleine Albright published an op-ed that the Russian leader is making a historic mistake. These were prophetic words. He really made a mistake - the biggest mistake in his life and in the life of modern generations of Russians," the president said.

According to Zelensky, "the fixed idea of any dictatorship is to ignore mistakes and pretend that there were no mistakes. This is exactly how Russia behaves. Obviously, the dictator has lost. However, he is doing everything so that Russia continues to fight, so as not to admit to himself and others that a historical mistake has been made. If Russia feels cornered, the only one to blame is yourself."

"Ukraine and the free world certainly should not change their goals and exchange their values for compromises if the dictatorship is afraid to admit mistakes and tempts to take a breather in the battles. We must defend freedom and guarantee the defense of our democracy. Ukraine and the world should receive guarantees of both peace and stability," Zelensky said.

According to him, "any option other than a Ukrainian victory would be a mistake. That is why we need the same U.S. leadership that we have provided for the last 286 days."