Zelenskyy says won't withdraw troops from Donbas

Ukraine will not withdraw from Donbas because concessions to Russia without security guarantees would open the way to new aggression and the risk of a third war, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists, Report informs via RBC-Ukraine.

Zelenskyy noted that, in his opinion, the story is not about Russia offering Ukraine to fully withdraw from Donbas and, in exchange, them withdrawing from some territory as well.

"In my view, basically, they are just proposing to stop advancing further, not to withdraw from somewhere. And I think that’s the point. Because the situation where withdrawing from Donbas is a condition for a ceasefire is a rather conditional exchange. It means they are offering you to withdraw from territory you control, and in return, a ceasefire — meaning no further advances," the president explained.

He clarified that the Russians probably understand that they won’t get Kharkiv or the Sumy region anyway.

"And, honestly, the Kinburn Spit, which blocks the port of Mykolaiv, they don’t have forces there. It’s not strategic for them. They just want us to withdraw from Donbas, to hand Donbas over to them," he emphasized.

"We cannot do that. Everyone forgets the first part — our territories are illegally occupied. For the Russians, Donbas is a springboard for a future new offensive. If we withdraw from Donbas voluntarily or under pressure, we will open the door to a third war," Zelenskyy stressed.

He explained that just as Crimea was 100% a springboard for an offensive to the south of Ukraine, Donbas serves as a springboard allowing Russia not to care about Ukrainian citizens, not to use its own troops, avoid mobilization, and instead use separatists for the needs of the Russian army.

"By the way, one of the strongest parts of their offensive troops was precisely people recruited from our territories occupied since 2014. In other words, a springboard was formed for a full-scale invasion. After the full-scale invasion, if today we withdraw from Donbas — from our fortifications, from the terrain, from the heights we control — we will clearly open a springboard for the preparation of a Russian offensive," he explained.

At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that in a few years, Russian President Vladimir Putin will have an open path toward the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

"And not only that. Also toward Kharkiv. Therefore, in my view, any question of territories cannot be separated from security guarantees. Otherwise, now they want to gift them about 9,000 square kilometers, which is roughly 30% of the Donetsk region, and this is a springboard for their new aggression,” the head of Ukraine concluded.