Zelenskyy: Any reduction of Ukraine's military is red line

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stressed that Ukraine will not recognise the occupied territories as Russian and will not agree to reduce its army for the sake of establishing a just peace. Source: Zelenskyy during a meeting with the heads of Chernihiv Oblast hromadas [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories - ed.] Quote: "A strong army is a priority for us.

Therefore, these are the red lines - no reduction in the size of our army. To be honest, we'll do everything we can to keep the army in the same condition as it is today. A large army that is three times larger than it was at the beginning of the war.

An army that can only be modernised. These are the changes that can take place after the war. Staffing should be increased, modernised..."

Details: Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine must receive the security guarantees it requires.

He stated that Ukraine will keep the issue of future alliances with partners, including NATO, on its agenda. The Ukrainian leader also emphasised that security guarantees must include economic guarantees, which will, among other things, focus on recovery efforts in the affected regions. Zelenskyy also described the non-recognition of the occupied territories as Russian as one of the main red lines for Kyiv.

Quote: "Other geopolitical things are the non-recognition of any territories occupied by Russia as Russian.

These are Ukrainian territories... This is one of the most important red lines for us. Anyway, these territories are temporarily occupied.

A just peace will come when all these territories are regained.

But if it's possible to find a compromise so that their recovery happens over time through diplomatic means, I think that, for some territories, this will probably be the only way."

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!