Ukrainian president opposes cease-fire with Russia

By Anadolu staff

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opposed on Thursday a cease-fire and peace talks with Russia.

Speaking at a news conference in Estonia's capital Tallinn after a meeting with the President Alar Karis, Zelenskyy said Russia, which launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, would use this time to regroup and rearm.

According to him, Russia currently suffers lack of ammunition and drones, and continues losing experienced soldiers in large numbers.

"If there is a break in the fighting and Russia is given two or three years, they may recover their strength and secure a battlefield advantage," Zelenskyy stressed.

The Ukrainian president alleged that although the Russian population still supports the war, the economic sanctions are starting to take their toll, the economy is suffering, which will eventually make the war unpopular among the people.

Zelenskyy denied that the West exercises pressure on him, pushing for peace talks with Russia, emphasizing that the Ukrainian leadership has its own opinion and will proceed based on its own decision.

Questions loom over the future of the conflict, in which Russia is said to have the battlefield advantage due to Ukraine's allegedly slower than expected progress in its counteroffensive, and a perceived loss of significant international interest and support.

Asked what is NATO's benefit from accepting Ukraine as its member, he said the country's army is one of the strongest in the world with real combat experience and advanced knowledge of Russia's strengths and weaknesses, and it may serve as a buffer zone for the Baltic states and other European NATO countries.

Estonian President Alar Karis backed Zelenskyy's unwillingness for a cease-fire, saying Ukraine has the right to make its own decisions.

He also supported Ukraine's accession to NATO and the EU, confiscation of the Russian assets frozen in the Western countries, and pledged to keep providing military assistance to Kyiv.