Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelensky to deal on annexed territory

The Ukrainian president has renewed an offer of direct peace talks with his Russian counterpart, declaring the status of disputed territories could be up for debate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses his nation on Monday. Picture: AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky late on Monday renewed an offer of direct peace talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, declaring the status of disputed territories could be up for debate and a referendum.

Mr Zelensky told local media he was ready to meet the Russian President “in any format” to discuss ending the almost one-month-old war that has shattered several Ukrainian cities.

He said even the status of ­Russian-occupied Crimea and Russian-backed statelets in Donbas was up for debate.

“At the first meeting with the President of Russia, I am ready to raise these issues,” he said. “There will be no appeals or historical speeches. I would discuss all issues with him in great detail.”

Russia has declared Crimea part of Russia and recognised the independence of the self-­proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.

All three areas were part of Ukraine following the collapse of the Soviet Union and are at the centre of a decade-old crisis that on February 24 spilt into invasion and full-scale war.

“If I have this opportunity and Russia has the desire, we would go through all the questions,” he told media outlet Suspilne. “Would we solve them all? No. But there is a chance, that we partially could – at least to stop the war.”

Although Mr Zelensky signalled he was willing to talk about the status of the three areas, he has repeatedly insisted all three were part of Ukraine and his country would not surrender. He also said any peace agreement involving “historic” changes would be put to a national referendum.

Sonia Mycak, a Ukraine expert at the Australian National University, said the promise of a popular vote likely doomed any suggestion of Kyiv ceding territory.

“The vast majority, like 80 per cent, of Ukrainians are saying that they do not want to relinquish” those territories, she said, citing two recent public opinion polls. “I think it would be rejected by the population … Very high numbers of Ukrainians are saying ‘We should not stop fighting’.

“Ukrainians see themselves as under existential threat. It’s not just the loss of territory, it’s the fact they would have to live as Russians; there would be heavy Russification, autocratic control.”

A month of talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials have so far failed to stop or even slow a war that has forced 3.5 million Ukrainians to leave the country. But with Russia’s much-larger military seemingly unable to ­occupy the entire country or ­topple Mr Zelensky’s ever-more-popular government, the Ukrainian leader said the war was inevitably going to end at the negotiating table.

“It is impossible not to have a solution. By destroying us, he is definitely destroying himself,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Putin.

“I do not want us to go down in history as heroes and as a nation that does not exist ... And if they destroy themselves, they won’t even have any heroism left.”

AFP