The West is afraid to insist on Ukraine’s complete victory (VIDEO)

In an interview with the American publication Philadelphia Inquirer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke regarding the possible format of negotiations between Kyiv and Russian President Vladimir Putin, gave a forecast for when the war will end, and explained how, in his opinion, the vision of Ukraine’s victory differs in the West and in the country itself.

On Western weapons strikes once morest Russia

Speaking to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin, Zelensky said that US President Joe Biden’s long-awaited decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian hardware along the Russian-Ukrainian border is a good thing, but it “doesn’t solve the problem of our cities and villages being destroyed by guided air bombs (GABs).”

“This [разрешение Байдена] “It solves tactical issues, it is not a strategic weapon. We cannot use tactical weapons to fight strategic problems, such as KABs and their aviation,” Zelensky noted.

To effectively counter Russian guided (also known as gliding) bombs, the Ukrainian Armed Forces need not so much advanced air defense systems such as Patriot, but rather ATACMS extended-range missiles, the president said.

“The Patriot cannot fight once morest the KABs,” Zelensky explained, emphasizing that Ukraine lacks missiles for the Patriot. “In the short term, you will win, but in the long term, the Russians will outplay you. You will use up all your missiles, and then they will hit cities, energy facilities, and you will lose.”

Zelensky recalled that in the past week alone, Russia used more than 800 glide bombs once morest Ukraine. The Ukrainian president insists that the White House grant permission to use longer-range American missiles to strike airfields deep in the Russian rear.

“We need to look for long-range solutions once morest airfields where military aircraft are stationed, which Russia uses to deploy KABs. ATACMS, which can hit at 300 kilometers, would probably help us today. I want to emphasize – today,” Zelensky noted. “But there are already airfields that are located at a greater distance, where they use large missiles. That is, today we need to be given the opportunity to use ATACMS deep into the Russian Federation.”

According to him, the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions suffer the most from Russian glide vehicles.

KABs can be fought with air defense systems. But the cost of missiles for Patriot systems is very high, they are not produced and are not supplied to Ukraine in large quantities.

In this interview, Volodymyr Zelensky admitted for the first time the possibility of negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Previously, he repeatedly spoke regarding the impossibility of such negotiations, which, moreover, was enshrined in law in Ukraine.

According to Zelensky, the only option for negotiations with the Russian leader is to use intermediaries, as was the case during the discussion and creation of the Black Sea grain corridor.

“This model was first used in the example of the grain corridor, when Ukraine negotiated not with Russia, but with the UN and Turkey. They, in turn, took on the responsibility of negotiating with us, and then signing a corresponding agreement with the Russian Federation. That’s how it worked: two mirror agreements between the UN and Turkey,” Zelensky explained.

According to Zelensky, a similar scheme might be used in negotiations on issues of “territorial integrity, energy and freedom of navigation.”

Countries from different continents might act as mediators, the president believes. “Our partners are not only Europe and the United States, but also from many continents, including Asia, the Pacific region, as well as Africans and Latin America. When there are representatives who are preparing a solution to a particular crisis, and then this document, if it satisfies Ukraine, should be dealt with by representatives of the Russian Federation. So far, we only have this model,” Zelensky noted.

As analysts at the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) write in their latest report, Putin is currently only prepared for Kyiv’s complete capitulation. He will view any negotiated ceasefire as a mechanism that will allow Russia to prepare for a resumption of offensive operations in the future.

Such a ceasefire would give Russia a breathing space in the war to rebuild and expand its forces and further mobilize its defense industrial base for inevitable future aggression, ISW notes.

How does the vision of Ukraine’s victory differ in the West and in Ukraine?

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin asked Zelensky whether he really thought US President Joe Biden believed Ukraine would win.

The Ukrainian leader responded that he was sure of this, but added that in Ukraine and in the West victory is understood differently.

“For the West, the main victory is to prevent Ukraine from being occupied and to put Putin in his place,” Zelensky explained.

In his opinion, the West is afraid to insist on Ukraine’s complete victory and to contribute to it out of concerns regarding stability in Russia in the event of its defeat. “Everyone is afraid of what will happen to Russia without Putin. Everyone is afraid of whether it can remain as it is and not become even worse,” the president explained and emphasized that he does not share such concerns of the West.

“We are grateful that they did not allow us to be occupied, but satisfaction is needed, justice is needed and, of course, one of the important parts. How are we supposed to look into the eyes of all these people who lost their loved ones if we do not get this satisfaction?” Zelensky said.

Experts say Putin expects Russia to achieve its goals despite Western support for Kyiv, which has been far from as large-scale as Ukraine had hoped at the start of the war, and that Western assistance is therefore crucial to thwarting the Kremlin’s calculations.

He also explained how he understands Ukraine’s real victory.

“The first part is to prevent the complete destruction of Ukraine and everything Ukrainian… Until the war ends, we cannot say that we have defended our independence. It is important to achieve security for future generations, and this means the impossibility of a repeat of aggression.”

Zelensky stressed that if Ukraine does not become a member of the European Union and NATO, the resumption of Russian aggression would be a “big risk.”

“We must be in the European Union – this is economic security. We must be in NATO. And if we do not have this, I believe that this is a big risk for us… This enemy will return. How will he return? In the person of Putin – not Putin, another Kremlin, in twenty years, forty, fifty – I do not know. We need collective defense of Ukraine,” Zelensky noted.

At the moment, the North Atlantic Alliance confirms that it intends to accept Ukraine as a member, but postpones the decision on this issue to an indefinite future.

How long will the war last?

When asked by Trudy Rubin how long the war would last, Zelensky noted that the war would end anyway. Ukraine has already taken the first step with the “Peace Summit” held in Switzerland in June.

He assured that Kyiv would prepare a document on the peace plan.

“We will try to do everything to ensure that this document ends up on the table of Russian representatives and that various powerful countries try to end this war fairly – of course, in various formats and dialogues,” Zelensky said.

He added that the war will not end completely for everyone – it does not happen quickly. “But a document can be prepared, where some issues are resolved not with bullets, but in one or another format of dialogue,” Zelensky added.

He also did not say how long he thought this war would last, but he said he knew exactly what needed to be done this year.

“We must make a document, we must do everything to hold the second summit this year. We must stand firm. And we must weaken the enemy as much as possible so that by the time of the negotiations he is not on the same wave, from above,” the Ukrainian leader said.

Analysts and military experts, meanwhile, doubt that with the current volumes of foreign aid, primarily from the United States, and the observed trend toward its reduction, an ongoing war of attrition is promising for Ukraine. Vladimir Putin expects to win in Ukraine with the help of long-term, “creeping” offensive operations, the Institute for the Study of War believes. This will encourage Putin to prolong the war, during which he seeks to destroy Ukrainian statehood.

Apparently, analysts believe, Putin is counting on Russia being able to hold on to any territory it seizes and that the longer the war goes on, the greater Russia’s chances of achieving its stated territorial goals, which the Kremlin has deliberately kept as vague as possible.

Putin likely hopes that the slow advance of his forces in Ukraine, which might last for months if not years, will convince the West that military victory over Russia is impossible and that losing some territory is preferable to the complete defeat of Ukraine, the report says.