In a broadcast interview with the Financial Times, Zelensky said that while “any war should be ended at the negotiating table,” the position for “victory must be achieved on the battlefield.”
He conceded that “restoring the borders that we controlled before 24th of February” – the date of the massive Russian invasion – could be considered a “serious temporary victory.” But he insisted that it was a “war for independence.”
“Independence in my opinion, and in the opinion of most of our people, is regaining all of our territories, restoring all of our territorial integrity and inviolable sovereignty of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Macron and Ukraine
He reserved particularly harsh criticism for French President Emmanuel Macron over recent remarks he made that “we are not going to humiliate Russia."
“Some people want to be leaders. In order to be a leader, you do not need to consider yourself one, but to be behave as a leader,” Zelensky said.