Zelenskyy Refuses To Discuss "Broad Autonomy For Donbas" With Russia

After the destruction of dozens of cities and the killing of tens of thousands of people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers it impossible to discuss "broad autonomy for Donbas."

He spoke about this in an interview with the Italian TV channel Rai 1.

“Broad autonomy for Donbas? There is nothing left. What kind of broad autonomy? What?.. Before talking about this or that format of those territories, it was impossible to kill tens of thousands of people. Here is the problem. They have killed, destroyed everything and they say that now to give them autonomy. We will never recognize their autonomy," the President stressed.

Besides, Zelenskyy said that he did not recognize the Crimean Peninsula temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as part of Russia, although he admitted that the return of the peninsula could occur later than the rest of the territories.

"We will never recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation... We are ready to talk with the Russian Federation that a decision on Crimea is not in time... There is a war going on, human lives will be in time. Let's put aside this issue if it is painful, if it complicates the negotiation process if it complicates the process of meeting the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Turkey on ending the war "offered to put it aside, but not forever."

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, said that Russian troops were making attempts to establish control over the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway, which would allow the invaders to cut off the controlled part of Luhansk region from the rest of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said that the constant airstrikes and artillery shelling of infrastructure facilities and residential areas in Donbas indicate that Russia wants to make this territory deserted.