Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the inability of Ukrainian forces to retake territories currently occupied by Russia in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. He stressed that diplomacy is the sole remaining avenue to compel Russia's withdrawal, while reaffirming Ukraine's unwavering refusal to recognize Russian sovereignty over these areas. He outlined the limitations of Ukraine's military capabilities and emphasized the crucial role of international diplomatic pressure in forcing negotiations with Russia.
Ukrainian forces are unable to dislodge Russian troops out of the land they occupy in Crimea and the east of the country, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted.The Ukrainian president said diplomacy was the only remaining option to get Moscow to withdraw its army - though he vowed Kyiv would never recognise Russian rule. 'We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so. De facto, these territories are now controlled by the Russians.
We do not have the strength to recover them,' he said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien. 'We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.' Mr Zelenskyy made similar remarks in an interview with Sky News's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay last month, in which he suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken 'under the NATO umbrella' - allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later 'in a diplomatic way'. Mr Zelenskyy said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the 'hot phase of the war', as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders. He appeared to accept occupied eastern parts of the country would fall outside of such a deal for the time being
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