Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Wednesday that peace negotiations with Russia are impossible, as the only option offered by Moscow is capitulation, Ukrinform reports.

Oleksiy Danilov (second from the left) with military commanders and heads of special services from KyivPhoto: Kyrylo Chubotin-Ukrinform / Sipa Press / Profimedia Images

“Putin is not ready for any negotiations. Putin or his entourage make these statements in order to reduce support for our country,” Danilov said in an interview, adding that Russia is issuing “these lies” that the Kremlin is ready for negotiations.

He reminded of Ukraine’s “clear position” on the topic of peace talks, referring to the 10 points of the peace formula that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been proposing since last December.

“The negotiations proposed by the Russian Federation are quite simple: our capitulation. We cannot afford to capitulate to the country that began to destroy us on February 24. And we will continue to go to victory,” Oleksiy Danilov emphasized on Wednesday.

Responding to a question about the assessment of Ukraine’s counteroffensive this summer, Danilov said that there is a war going on in Ukraine and the situation is “very difficult.”

Danilov says that Ukraine will not give up its territories

“Of course, we would like to have a much better situation regarding the liberation of our territories. Someone has a strong desire for us to give up our territories, I want to explain to everyone that we have a Constitution that clearly established the territories of our country,” the Ukrainian government official emphasized.

“Again, when they say we don’t have results on the battlefield, that’s not entirely true. Every day we destroy a large number of Russian military personnel and weapons on the territory of our state,” said the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council in Kyiv.

His comments came just days after The New York Times published an extensive article that said President Vladimir Putin was open to a possible ceasefire, provided he kept Ukrainian territory occupied by his military.

Over the past year, the Kremlin has repeatedly said that Russia will only accept a peace formula that recognizes the annexation of Ukrainian territories that Putin declared annexed by Moscow in September 2022.

Follow the latest events of the 672nd day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.