“Today, we heard another signal from Moscow indicating that they are preparing to make the next year yet another year of war,” Zelensky declared in his daily address to the nation.
The Ukrainian leader warned European allies that “it is important that they see this” and especially that they react, addressing the United States in particular, “which often says that Russia supposedly wants to end the war.”
The Kremlin leader reaffirmed today the goal of militarily conquering what he described as “historic Russian territories” in Ukraine, referring to partially occupied regions in the neighboring country, if diplomacy fails.
“If the adversary and its foreign sponsors refuse to talk about this, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical territories by military means,” Putin stated.
In his speech today, Zelensky accused Moscow of using diplomacy to “conceal its desire to destroy Ukraine and Ukrainians” and “to legitimize the theft” of his country’s territories and beyond.
The Ukrainian President suggested that, based on the same argument as Putin, Moscow could target the territories of other European countries that it “one day claims as its so-called historical lands.”
In this regard, he referred to the European Council meeting scheduled for Thursday in Brussels, where the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) are expected to decide whether to use frozen Russian assets within their jurisdictions to continue financing Kiev.
Describing the meeting as “very important,” the Ukrainian leader warned that “Russia needs to understand that its desire to wage war again next year will be futile, because Ukraine will have support” from its European partners.
This entirely depends on Europe, on Europe making that decision,” emphasized the Ukrainian President, who is also expected in Brussels on Thursday.
Although the majority of EU countries support the use of frozen Russian assets to finance Kiev, Belgium, which holds most of these funds, opposes this measure due to fears of legal repercussions if Russia challenges it in court.
The European Commission has proposed issuing new common debt as an alternative to continue covering Ukraine’s economic needs, a formula that meets resistance from several member states. Zelensky also stated in his speech that he hopes his envoys will hold new talks this week with American mediators to move towards a negotiated solution to the conflict with Russia.
The U.S. administration has intensified negotiations in recent weeks for a peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev along with its European allies, based on a plan that, in its initial version, corresponded to several of the Kremlin’s demands.
The parties remain far from an understanding, mainly due to Ukraine’s refusal to make territorial concessions to Russia, and also the need for international security guarantees for Kiev to prevent further aggression from Moscow in case of an agreement.
