Zelenskyy reaffirms his refusal to cede land to Russia as he rallies European support
apnews.com
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffirmed his refusal to cede territory, resisting U.S. pressure for compromise with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffimed his firm refusal to cede any territory, resisting U.S. pressure for a painful compromise with Russia as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine.

“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don’t want to give up anything. That’s what we are fighting for,” Zelenskyy said in a WhatsApp chat late Monday in which he answered reporters’ questions.

“Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don’t have such right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either.”

  • shawn1122@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    This is an oversimplification. When the Berlin wall fell and Germany was unified there were assurances made that NATO would not expand eastward which obviously did not pan out.

    The West has pushed forward with NATO inclusion of several eastern European nations including Ukraine since that time. During the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, George W. Bush insisted on raising the topic of Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, despite opposition from Angela Merkel, who was concerned about the implications for relations with Russia.

    The concern from a Russian standpoint was an expanding Western sphere of influence, not fear of Ukrainian military action specifically.

    • Geobloke@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Have you got a publicly available document that was signed by leaders of NATO and the USSR successor that there would be no eastward advancement?