Ukrainian president: 'I will not agree to go to war' in separatist-controlled territory

Volodymyr Zelensky.
(Image credit: Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to ensure cooler heads prevail in his country's ongoing conflict with Russia.

In an interview with Time published Monday, Zelensky spoke about his determination to reach a cease-fire agreement with Russia in Ukraine's territory known as the Donbass, where Moscow and its proxies maintain two separatist strongholds. The fighting has slowed down, he noted, but it hasn't halted completely. Zelensky wants to achieve peace through negotiations, rather than ramping up Ukraine's military efforts.

"I will not agree to go to war in the Donbass," he said. "I know there are a lot of hotheads, especially those who hold rallies and say, 'Let's go fight and win it all back!' But at what price? What is the cost? It's another story of lives and land. And I won't do it."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Zelensky added that if his restraint doesn't satisfy Ukrainian society, the electorate will eventually choose someone else to make the decision.

"I cannot send them there," he said, referring to soldiers. "How many of them will die? Hundreds of thousands, and then an all-out war will start, an all-out war in Ukraine, and then across Europe." Read the full interview at Time.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.