A day after claiming peace negotiations with Russia are “quite solid”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he feared an attack by Moscow on his country on Christmas day.
He also rejected most of the conditions in the US-brokered peace deal, including territorial concessions, limiting troops to 600,000, or abandoning aspirations of joining the NATO, as demanded by the Russian side.
“No side is likely to get everything in the peace talks, but Kyiv will not accept some things either,” he stated, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin making it clear that if a negotiated settlement does not work, Russia will capture more Ukrainian territory by force.
Moscow recently intensified its military operation in the northeastern Sumy region to create a buffer zone deep inside Ukrainian territory.
Although Ukrainian forces have held off invasions in Odesa and Donbas, other important regions have either fallen or remain on the brink of collapse under a unified assault led by Russian Special Forces, along with North Korean and Chechen Special Forces.
Also Read: Zelenskyy rejects elections in Russia-controlled areas
Zelenskyy, whose term ended in May last year, continues to hold the position of the President, citing the country’s ongoing military campaign and martial law. His country recently received around $2.6 billion in loan from the European Union to sustain the ongoing war.
While he has promised to hold elections in Ukraine within 90 days, there are chances that a sizable population of the country may not even participate due to the ongoing hostilities and heavy shelling.
Meanwhile, Russia insists upon elections to be held in the country, saying Zelenskyy is no longer a legitimate leader and that it would prefer negotiating with an elected government.
Additionally, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said talks between representatives of Russia and the US in Miami on a possible peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv are a “working process” rather than a turning point.
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