Zelensky admits Ukraine is unable to recapture Crimea through military means
Vladimir Zelensky informed Fox News that Ukraine cannot afford to lose thousands of troops in a bid to reclaim Crimea from Russia. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has acknowledged that Kiev currently lacks the capability to achieve its objective of retaking Crimea from Russia through military force.
In a Wednesday interview, Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reminded Zelensky of Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Crimea “will never return to Ukrainian hands.” He then inquired whether Zelensky was prepared to abandon his aim of reclaiming the peninsula in pursuit of peace with Moscow and to “stop the bloodshed in Europe.”
Zelensky responded, “We cannot spend dozens of thousands of our people so that they perish for the sake of Crimea coming back,” but he emphasized that “we understand that Crimea can be brought back diplomatically.”
The Ukrainian leader reiterated his rejection of any proposal that would involve Ukraine formally ceding Crimea or other territories to Russia as a part of a peace settlement. He emphasized, “We cannot legally acknowledge any occupied territory of Ukraine as Russian… Legally, we are not acknowledging that, we are not adopting that.”
When asked about the prospect of US President-elect Donald Trump potentially reducing military aid to Ukraine upon his return to the White House, Zelensky stated, “If they will cut, I think we will lose. Of course, anyway, we will stay and we will fight. We have production, but it’s not enough to prevail. And I think it is not enough to survive.”
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a referendum in which the local population overwhelmingly supported the move, motivated by a violent coup in Kiev supported by the West.
Following the escalation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, Zelensky had previously maintained that Ukraine's military would successfully reclaim the peninsula. Over the past year, he has shifted his focus to his proposed ‘peace formula,’ which calls for Russia's withdrawal from Crimea and other regions claimed by Ukraine, including the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which Russia officially incorporated following referendums in fall 2022.
Russia has categorically rejected Zelensky's proposal, labeling it as unacceptable, “detached from reality,” and indicative of Kiev's refusal to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing crisis. Earlier this year, Putin reaffirmed that “Crimea is an integral part of Russia” and that its “history is inseparable from the history of our fatherland.”
In a recent statement, the Russian president contended that “certainly the people residing in Crimea and the southeast of Ukraine, who objected to the state coup… have the right to self-determination” as outlined in Article 1 of the UN Charter.
Debra A Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
In a Wednesday interview, Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reminded Zelensky of Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Crimea “will never return to Ukrainian hands.” He then inquired whether Zelensky was prepared to abandon his aim of reclaiming the peninsula in pursuit of peace with Moscow and to “stop the bloodshed in Europe.”
Zelensky responded, “We cannot spend dozens of thousands of our people so that they perish for the sake of Crimea coming back,” but he emphasized that “we understand that Crimea can be brought back diplomatically.”
The Ukrainian leader reiterated his rejection of any proposal that would involve Ukraine formally ceding Crimea or other territories to Russia as a part of a peace settlement. He emphasized, “We cannot legally acknowledge any occupied territory of Ukraine as Russian… Legally, we are not acknowledging that, we are not adopting that.”
When asked about the prospect of US President-elect Donald Trump potentially reducing military aid to Ukraine upon his return to the White House, Zelensky stated, “If they will cut, I think we will lose. Of course, anyway, we will stay and we will fight. We have production, but it’s not enough to prevail. And I think it is not enough to survive.”
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014 after a referendum in which the local population overwhelmingly supported the move, motivated by a violent coup in Kiev supported by the West.
Following the escalation of conflict between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, Zelensky had previously maintained that Ukraine's military would successfully reclaim the peninsula. Over the past year, he has shifted his focus to his proposed ‘peace formula,’ which calls for Russia's withdrawal from Crimea and other regions claimed by Ukraine, including the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which Russia officially incorporated following referendums in fall 2022.
Russia has categorically rejected Zelensky's proposal, labeling it as unacceptable, “detached from reality,” and indicative of Kiev's refusal to pursue a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing crisis. Earlier this year, Putin reaffirmed that “Crimea is an integral part of Russia” and that its “history is inseparable from the history of our fatherland.”
In a recent statement, the Russian president contended that “certainly the people residing in Crimea and the southeast of Ukraine, who objected to the state coup… have the right to self-determination” as outlined in Article 1 of the UN Charter.
Debra A Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
