Volodymyr Zelensky reveals concession Ukraine could make to end war with Russia

Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country might be prepared to accept one key condition to end the war with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status to end the war with Russia, as peace talks resume.

Mr Zelensky spent 90 minutes speaking to independent Russian news outlets today.

Vladimir Putin’s government has forbidden the Russian media from reporting on or publishing the interview, though that hasn’t stopped the footage from being widely posted, including by Mr Zelensky himself on his Telegram channel.

According to Reuters, Mr Zelensky indicated he was open to “neutrality”, as well as a “compromise” regarding the occupied eastern Donbas region.

“Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point,” he said.

Mr Zelensky stressed that Ukraine’s security would have to be guaranteed by third parties, and neutrality would need to be approved in a referendum.

He also conceded that Ukraine would not attempt to recapture all Russian-occupied territory by force, saying it would start “World War III”.

Ukraine was initially neutral when it became independent in 1991, but that changed after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, prompting the Ukrainian government to adopt a new goal of becoming a NATO member.

Accepting neutrality as a condition of peace would be a significant concession to Russia, as it would entail ditching that ambition to join NATO.

Stream the latest on the invasion of Ukraine from the world’s most trusted news sources with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022 >

Volodymyr Zelensky. Picture: Ukrainian President’s Office/AFP

Mr Zelensky’s wide-ranging interview with the Russian journalists also included a dire account of the situation in Mariupol, in Ukraine’s south, which has suffered under a relentless Russian assault for weeks.

He slammed Russia for denying Ukrainian forces the chance to recover the bodies of dead soldiers and civilians.

“There are bodies all over the city, both Russian soldiers and civilians. Everywhere on the streets. Heaps of dead people,” he said.

“Our military is not prepared to leave bodies in mass graves, like trash. We asked for permission to move the bodies of the dead and wounded. They wouldn’t allow us to.

“I don’t know if they are moving dead or wounded Russian troops in the same direction they took the kids.”

That was a reference to Russia removing Ukrainian civilians by force. Thousands have been taken across the border to Russia. Putin’s regime claims they went voluntarily, while Ukraine has referred to them as hostages.

“We’ve asked Russians to come and pick up their dead troops. They aren’t doing it,” Mr Zelensky continued.

“Even dead cats and dogs are treated better. I hate them because they invaded, but you have to still be human. What are their parents thinking?

“This is scary, because if this is how they treat their own, how will they treat others?”

A Ukrainian soldier walks through rubble in Kharkiv. Picture: Aris Messinis/AFP

He said relations between Ukrainians and Russians had been “broken” by the war, in some cases “irreversibly”.

“The emotional connection is lost,” said the President.

“(Russians) have to know this war will bring nothing good. But relations are broken everywhere, some irreversibly.

“I’m deeply disappointed in the large number of Russians who support (the war), for many different reasons. I don’t want to say this is all brainwashing or propaganda.

“Let’s be honest, it is also justification. You can’t just not notice a war that has been going on for so many years. This isn’t like just one day, like what happened on 9/11 … it’s not one attack. It’s eight years, damn it.

“I think this is the worst thing that could have happened, where disappointment turned into hatred between nations.”

The current, full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in late February, but it followed the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and fighting with Russian-backed rebels in the east during the intervening years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: Andrey Gorshkov/Sputnik/AFP

Elsewhere, the United States has been hastily walking back an off-the-cuff remark from President Joe Biden.

At the end of a speech in Warsaw, Poland, over the weekend, Mr Biden went off script and said: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

He was referring to Mr Putin. The White House and State Department have spent the subsequent 24 hours clarifying that “regime change” is not the official US policy towards Russia.

“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” a White House official insisted.

“I think the President, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” added Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“As you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia, or anywhere else for that matter.

“In this case, as in any case, it’s up to the people of the country in question. It is up to the Russian people.”