Volodymyr Zelensky, in the next phase of talks to end the war in Ukraine, intends to draw a red line at the most contentious issue on the table: the Russian demand for Ukraine’s sovereign territory. As long as he remains the nation’s president, Zelensky will not agree to give up land in exchange for peace, Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Andriy Yermak, told me today in an exclusive interview.
“Not a single sane person today would sign a document to give up territory,” said Yermak, who has served as Zelensky’s chief of staff, lead negotiator, and closest aide throughout the full-scale war with Russia.
“As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory,” he told me by telephone from Kyiv. “The constitution prohibits this. Nobody can do that unless they want to go against the Ukrainian constitution and the Ukrainian people.”
Emm… Can you specify the question, please?
In which way is Russia going to oppress Ukrainians? How will it compare to their treatment of other minorities?
I am not sure if this question is serious or if you are just trolling me, but whatever. I will answer.
Russians think of Ukrainians as their property already and are OK with killing and robbing them. So if the Russia conquers Ukraine we can have something like Red Terror again to teach Ukrainians a lesson. Then, it will be sanctions against language, culture, etc. And economical disadvantages like gathering resources and work force from Ukraine to compensate the losses in Russia leaving Ukrainians in poverty. Especially, because of Ukraine hasn’t surrendered peacefully, what made a lot of shame for Russia thus giving more hate towards Ukraine.
Maybe I am exaggerating, but I am not expecting something good from people who think that they can on random occasions come and get other’s lands even in relatively peaceful ways. And then simply start killing them once they refuse to comply. I do not believe in the possibility of that Russians have changed a bit, especially if we recall a lot of negative actions towards Ukraine and its ancestors in past from the side of Russia and its ancestors that were done in similar conditions compared to nowadays.
Note: I cannot predict what exactly may happen but definitely nothing good, especially if we simply extrapolate history and analyze current and past situations.
Thanks.