20 November 2022, Sunday, 13:48 495

Attempts To Persuade Ukraine To Negotiate With RF After Our Victories Tantamount To Asking For Surrender - Podoliak

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

Attempts by Western countries to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with the Russian Federation after a series of major Ukrainian military victories are pointless. This is tantamount to asking for the surrender of Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the President's Office chairman, said this in an interview with AFP.

"When you have the initiative on the battlefield, it's a bit strange to receive proposals like: "You can't do it militarily anyway, you have to negotiate." This would mean that the country that returns its territories should capitulate to the country that loses," Podoliak said.

He also said that Moscow has not made "any direct proposals" to Kyiv regarding peace talks, preferring to pass them through intermediaries and even raising the possibility of a ceasefire.

According to him, the President's Office perceives such conversations as a simple maneuver by the Kremlin to "rest" and prepare a new offensive.

"Russia does not want negotiations. Russia is conducting a communication campaign called 'negotiations'. It will simply stop for a while and train the mobilized forces, find additional weapons and strengthen its positions," Podoliak warns.

He emphasizes that, despite Russia's military defeats in recent weeks, including the fact that Ukraine has regained control of Kherson, the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, still believes that "he can destroy Ukraine and this is his obsession", so negotiations with him do not make sense.

According to the adviser to the head of the President's Office, the retreat of Russians from the Kyiv Region in March, and then from the Kharkiv Region in September, the liberation of Kherson - all this became a "fundamental turning point in the conflict."

"After a series of military victories, Ukraine cannot afford any pause in its counteroffensive, despite the beginning of winter cold and snow, which complicate the situation on the ground. Today, even a small pause only adds to the losses that Ukraine has suffered," he concluded.

It will be recalled that earlier Podoliak stated that Ukraine will not make territorial compromises with the aggressor Russia. After all, this will not bring peace, but will only increase the number of victims.

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