President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Trudy Rubin, a columnist for the American edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he discussed several key issues. He spoke about the possible format of negotiations with Russian President Putin, predicted the end of the conflict, and also explained the differences in the vision of Ukraine's victory in the West and in Ukraine.
Zelenskyi also expressed a positive attitude towards US President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to use Western military equipment to attack Russian concentrations along the border, but noted that this does not solve strategic problems, including the threat of corrective aerial bombs.
According to him, the Patriot air defense systems are not effective in the fight against corrective aerial bombs (ABMs), and for successful defense against them, the Armed Forces of Ukraine need long-range ATACMS missiles.
Zelenskyi also emphasized that Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine just last week.
The Ukrainian president insists on receiving permission from Washington to use American long-range missiles to strike airfields deep in the Russian rear.
"We need long-range solutions against airfields where military aircraft are based, which are used by Russia for corrective air bomb attacks. ATACMS missiles, capable of operating at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, would certainly help us today. I want to emphasize: today ... but there are already airfields that are at a greater distance, where they use larger missiles. Therefore, today we need to be able to use ATACMS deep into the Russian Federation," Zelenskyi said.
The president noted that Donetsk and Kharkiv regions suffer the most from Russian guided air bombs, which can be effectively combated with the help of air defense systems. However, the cost of missiles for Patriot systems is quite high, and they are produced in limited batches.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed the possibility of negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation, Volodymyr Putin. This was a departure from his previous statements about the impossibility of such negotiations, which are even enshrined in Ukrainian legislation.
According to Zelenskyi, the only way to negotiate with the Russian leader is to use mediators, as happened during the discussion and conclusion of the Black Sea Grain Corridor.
"Such a model was successfully used in the case of the grain corridor, when Ukraine concluded an agreement not directly with Russia, but through the UN and Turkey. They took on the responsibility of conducting negotiations with us and signing the corresponding agreement with the Russian Federation. This strategy worked: two parallel agreements concluded by the UN and Turkey," Zelenskyy explained.
According to the president, a similar scheme can be used for negotiations on the issues of "territorial integrity, energy and freedom of navigation". Countries from various parts of the world, including Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America, could act as mediators.
"Our partners not only from Europe and the USA, but also from different continents are ready to help find solutions to the crisis, and then these solutions, if they satisfy Ukraine, can be submitted to the representatives of the Russian Federation for consideration. Currently, we have only such a model," Zelenskyy added.
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Trudy Rubin asked Volodymyr Zelenskyi whether US President Joe Biden believes in Ukraine's victory.
The Ukrainian leader replied that he was sure of this, but noted that Ukrainian and Western understandings of victory differ.
"For the West, the main victory is to prevent the occupation of Ukraine and put Putin in his place," Zelensky explained.
The president also spoke about concerns about the future of Russia after Putin.
"Everyone is worried about what will happen to Russia without Putin. Will it be able to remain stable and not become even more dangerous," he added, stressing his lack of support for these concerns in the West.
"We are grateful that they did not allow us to be occupied, but we need more than that. We need justice and satisfaction, especially for those who lost loved ones in this war," Zelenskyi said.
He also explained his idea of Ukraine's real victory.
"First of all, this is to prevent the complete destruction of Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian people... While the war continues, we cannot say that we have defended our independence. The most important thing is to ensure security for future generations, which means preventing the recurrence of aggression," Zelensky noted.
Zelenskyy emphasized that a big risk is the possibility of Russia's return if Ukraine does not become a member of the European Union and NATO.
"We need a collective defense of Ukraine. We should be part of the European Union for economic security and NATO for military security. I believe there are great risks without this… This enemy will return. He will not return in the face of Putin, but in the face of another Kremlin in 20, 40, 50 years," Zelensky emphasized.
To Trudy Rubin's question about how long the war will last, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that it will end only if all parties are ready for peace. Ukraine has already taken the first step with its peace summit.
The president assured that Kyiv plans to prepare a document on the peace plan.
"We will do everything possible to get this document to the table of Russian representatives and for various powerful countries to try to end this war fairly, using different formats and dialogues," Zelenskyy said.
He added that the total end war will not come overnight for everyone.
"However, it is possible to prepare a document in which issues will be resolved not with bullets, but through dialogue in appropriate formats," he emphasized.
The president refrained from setting a specific deadline for how long the conflict will last, but noted that it is important to take steps this year.
"We need to develop a document, we must do everything possible to hold the second summit this year. We have to endure and weaken the enemy as much as possible so that at the time of the negotiations he is not on the same wavelength as us," the Ukrainian leader concluded.
