War in Ukraine: “It’s up to Russia to think about how to end this war”, assures Volodymyr Zelensky to “L’Express”

Six months after the launch of the Kremlin’s “special operation”, where is the situation in Ukraine? In an interview granted to our colleagues from the Express, the Ukrainian president insists that his country will one day or another find its territorial unity, including in Crimea and that victory will be at the end of the road. >> War in Ukraine: follow the evolution of the situation live What gives him this hope is that Vladimir Putin’s Russia is stalling in the face of Ukrainian resistance. Volodymyr Zelensky assures us in this interview: the Ukrainian resistance is intact and the objective of the fighting remains the restoration of the Ukrainian borders. The Russian army is now at an impasse, according to him. “It is up to Russia to think about how to end this war. Russia can choose to continue on the path it is on. They would like to take the country in three days, they have not succeeded. They know very well that “This is a problem, a trap that they have put their own people in. Their people are trapped. The Russian people are trapped because of the actions of their rulers. And now they have to find a solution”, insists the Head of State, from his office in kyiv, during an interview conducted by our colleagues from L’Express, Éric Chol, Charles Haquet and Cyrille Pluyette. “We carried out the video interview on August 17,” said Eric Chol, editorial director of the magazine, on Franceinfo on Tuesday.

This is his first interview in a French newspaper since the start of the war For about an hour, Ukrainian President @ZelenskyyUa confided in L’Express. Exclusive extracts ⤵️➡️ https://t.co/DTSaDeVcsUEn partnership with @BFMTV #NousLesUkrainiens pic.twitter.com/0l2Av9hhYE — L’Express (@LEXPRESS) August 23, 2022 For Volydymir Zelenski, therefore, no question of a a ceasefire that would freeze the conflict and consolidate the occupation of the Russian army in the areas it controls today, and in particular the east of the country. “Our soldiers fight day by day for our country. And the price of each of these days is not just a question of money: it is first of all a human cost, that of the lives of our soldiers. Russia is advancing every day and, every day, we are defending ourselves (…) even if these are very small steps”, assures the head of state. A counter-offensive to reconquer these provinces lost today is possible, assures the Ukrainian president, but he does not hide that it depends on the supply of weapons by the Westerners who are still lacking to him. From the presidential palace in kyiv, he also evokes the tense issue of the Zaporijjia nuclear power station in very worrying terms: “It is an atomic power station six times larger than that of Chernobyl: in the event of a disaster, the danger will not be limited to the European continent! It will be nuclear war without nuclear weapons: we must be aware that this scenario can happen and would lead to a disaster on a planetary scale. (…) The whole world addressed to the Russians warned, but they are terrorists! (…) The risks are very high! Currently this plant is in the hands of armed people, equipped with mines and grenades. Asked about the conditions of this interview, Eric Chol, editorial director of the magazine, told franceinfo that they had been preparing for this interview for several months: “We found in him an incredible energy, he answered each of the questions for a little over an hour, systematically defending his country, while calling for help from the European Union and France, “says the journalist, who says he felt Volodymyr Zelensky “extremely determined”. When L’Express asks the president how long the war will last, the latter assures us that it will continue as long as Ukraine has not restored its borders: “He explained to us that the conflict had started in 2014, during the annexation of Crimea. And that this region too would remain Ukrainian”, specifies Eric Chol.