The West’s attempts to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow after a series of major military victories by Kyiv are “fanciful” and tantamount to a call for surrender, Mykhailo Podolyak, a key adviser to the Ukrainian president, said in an interview with AFP. Volodymyr Zelenskyi

“When you have the initiative on the battlefield, it’s a little strange to receive proposals like: you still won’t be able to do everything by military means, come to an agreement,” Podolyak told AFP during a discussion held in his office of the President of Ukraine. .

“This means that the attacking country that returns its territories must capitulate to the losing country,” he added.

American media recently reported that some senior officials have begun encouraging Ukraine to negotiate, an idea Zelensky has refused to consider without the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

“Military victory in the literal sense of the word is unlikely to be achieved by military means,” senior US military official General Mark Milley said on November 9, arguing that there was a “window of opportunity for negotiation”. .

“Putin still thinks he can destroy Ukraine”

According to Podoliak, Moscow did not make “any direct proposals” to Kyiv regarding these negotiations, preferring to pass them through intermediaries and even mentioning the possibility of a ceasefire.

An idea that makes no sense to Kyiv, which sees it as a maneuver by the Kremlin to get a reprieve and prepare a new offensive.

“Russia does not want negotiations. Russia is conducting a communications campaign called “negotiations,” the adviser said.

“It’s just going to take time. In the meantime, he will train his soldiers, find additional weapons” and strengthen his positions, he warns.

Because, despite the heavy military defeats, President Vladimir Putin still believes “that he can destroy Ukraine, this is his obsession” and that negotiations with him “make no sense”, claims Podolyak.

Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk are now “key destinations”

The West “did not put pressure on Ukraine,” he says, adding with regret that “our partners still believe that it is possible to return to the pre-war era, when Russia was a reliable partner.”

The November liberation of Kherson, the only regional center captured by the Russians since the offensive began on February 24, marked a “fundamental” turning point in the conflict, according to Mr. Podoliak.

Buoyed by the winning momentum, Ukraine “cannot afford a single pause” in the counterattack, despite the arrival of cold and snow, which worsen the situation on the battlefield.

He added that “every little pause today only increases the losses that Ukraine has suffered” as Moscow bombards the country’s energy infrastructure for weeks, plunging millions of homes into darkness.

Zaporizhia and Luhansk regions are now “key destinations” for the military, said Podolyak, who declined to discuss the possibility of a military operation to retake the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

List of weapons that Kyiv still needs

In this context, the Ukrainian authorities hope for an increase in the supply of Western weapons. “It would be very important to do it in winter,” the official said.

He listed: “we still need 150-200 tanks, about 300 armored vehicles”, about 100 artillery systems, 50-70 salvo fire systems, including the formidable American HIMARS, of which Ukraine already has several units, as well as “ten to 15 systems Air defense to close the airspace”.

He also mentioned the American ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 300 kilometers, while now the range of Ukrainian weapons is a little more than 80 kilometers.

According to Podolyak, these missiles will “bring the end of the war closer,” allowing Ukraine to “destroy large Russian military depots” in the depths of the occupied territories, which are currently inaccessible.

Kyiv has “no need” to attack military targets inside Russia, the adviser said.

“The war will end when we regain control over our borders and when Russia is afraid of Ukraine,” Podolyak concluded.