-
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska said giving land to Russia would be like “conceding a freedom.”
-
Henry Kissinger previously said the country should be prepared to do so to reach peace.
-
Zelenska was one of many Ukrainians, including her husband Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to reject the idea.
Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska said the country would not give up land to Russia because it would be akin to “conceding a freedom.”
“You just can’t concede … parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts.
The appearance was her her first solo TV interview since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
The clip was released late on Wednesday ahead of the full interview being broadcast on Thursday. ABC said that it was recorded on Wednesday somewhere in Ukraine.
Zelenska was asked her thoughts on the idea that giving up land, particularly in the eastern Donbas region, would be the way to achieve a peace agreement.
In May, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Ukraine should be prepared to hand over territory to Russia in exchange for peace.
It sparked a wave of indignation from Ukrainians, including Zelenska’s husband, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
US President Joe Biden also rejected the idea of conceding territory. In a New York Times article published on Tuesday, Biden wrote: “I will not pressure the Ukrainian government — in private or public — to make any territorial concessions. It would be wrong and contrary to well-settled principles to do so.”
Zelenska in her interview said that giving up land would not stop Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
“Even if we would concede our territories, the aggressor would not stop at that,” she said.
“He would continue pressing, he would continue launching more and more steps forward, more and more attacks against our territory.”
This week, US President Joe Biden announced that the US would be sending more sophisticated military equipment to Ukraine, including advanced rocket systems, as Business Insider’s Matthew Loh reported.
Zelenska said she “hoped so.” US officials have said the equipment may take some weeks to arrive.
Read the original article on Business Insider
