The ceasefire means that 25% of the territory is under Russian control

A ceasefire without Russia withdrawing its troops from the occupied territories will give the aggressor “time to strengthen its capabilities and resume attacks on Ukraine,” said Ukraine's Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar.

Source: Bodnar in an interview with Euronews.

Ambassador's direct speech: “Many countries have proposed the idea of a ceasefire, but no one thinks about what it means. (A ceasefire would mean that - ed.) 25% of Ukrainian territory would remain under Russian control... (and it would also mean - ed.) buying time for Russia to strengthen its capabilities and resume its attacks on Ukraine.”

Bodnar emphasized that the solution to the problem of Russian occupation, which has been going on in Ukraine for more than two years, lies only in the protection of Ukraine's territorial integrity within the framework of international law.

“Any other proposal should not be taken into account, and that is why we rejected it,” the ambassador said.

Bodnar explained that Ukraine's vision of ending the war is unified and unchanged: “Our methods of achieving peace are very simple: the withdrawal of Russian troops and the defense of international law, and then we can start talking about other possibilities.”

Speaking about the call for a ceasefire made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during his recent visit to Kyiv, Bodnar said that Orban's ceasefire proposal did not contain any details.

He added that Ukraine's desire to join NATO does not intend to provoke Russia or create geopolitical changes, but only to secure security and “lasting peace.”

“NATO is the only institution that can meet the security needs of the modern world, at least on paper,” Bodnar said.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 26/07/2024