Ukraine won't agree to hostilities freezing — President's Office

Ukraine will not agree to hostilities freezing and will not trade its people and territories in the war against Russia, says Mykhailo Podolyak, Adviser to the Head of the President's Office, reacting to the statements of some European policy-makers regarding the ceding of Ukrainian territories for peace.

Podolyak noted that Russia is now spending huge resources on its propaganda, and pro-Russian lobbyists started to "raise their heads" in Europe again.

"Yesterday, only the oil embargo and Russian war crimes were on the information agenda. Today, some policy-makers are offering us a new agenda: a ceasefire, a frozen conflict, and the ceding of part of the territory for peace," wrote Adviser to the Head of the President's Office on his Telegram channel.

He stressed that Ukraine will not participate in this discussion and will not trade its citizens, territories, and sovereignty.

"Ukrainian society has paid a terrible price and will not allow anyone even to take a step in this direction, be it government or country. Any hint of this from any partner will receive a principled response. There can be no talk of conflict freezing," said Podolyak.

The President's Office reiterated that any conflict freezing would only postpone the war, which would become even bloodier and more massive.

Zelensky's Office also reminded that it is not only the question of the territories but also of people who now became internally displaced persons, who now found shelter in the EU, and will not return to live in the occupied territories or to the "gray" zone.

"There can be no worse stab in the back than suggestions to cede part of the territories, from those whose values and borders are protected by Ukrainians, to cede their lives. Or maybe freedom and democracy are no longer worth fighting for?" concludes Podolyak in his statement.

Talks with Russia

Ukraine has been negotiating with Russian officials since the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion. At the talks in Istanbul on March 29, the Ukrainian delegation proposed to fix security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for non-aligned status. The key requirement is that Ukraine's security guarantees should be similar to NATO's Article 5, which says that an attack on any Allies members is seen as an attack on all members.

Representatives of many countries stated that they were ready to become guarantors. Still, they were in no hurry to make public promises to commit to the use of force if necessary.

Finally, on May 17, it was reported that Ukraine and Russia had suspended talks on ending the war. Moscow said that the Ukrainian side withdrew from the talks. At the same time, Podolyak explained that Russia's perception of the invasion-related events happening in the world is not quite adequate, and Kremlin wants to use the talks as part of its propaganda for domestic policy.