Ukraine is ready for real compromises on peace issues, but not at the cost of independence and sovereignty.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this in an interview with Kyodo News.
About peace negotiations
"We are ready to talk about compromises with the United States. But not to receive ultimatums from the Russians again and again. They are the aggressor. Everyone has recognized this. This has not changed," he emphasized.
That is why, according to him, the very fact of talking with the aggressor about compromises is already a compromise on the part of Ukraine.
"ʼWe stand where we standʼ is a big compromise. They have seized almost 20% of our territory. And we are ready to talk about peace now based on the principle of ʼwe stand where we standʼ. This is a big compromise," the president noted.
The Russian position, however, is that they are "ready not to occupy other regions" — but this is not a compromise, but terrorism, says Zelensky.
“ʼI am ready not to kill you – give us everything.’ What does this mean? This is not a compromise. This is an ultimatum. That is why I said that we are ready for compromises that respect Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, our army, our people and our children. But we are not ready for ultimatums,” he concluded.
About North Korean troops in Russia
Separately, Zelensky also said that 10 000 North Korean soldiers are currently stationed in the Russian Federation. There, they are gaining knowledge about modern hybrid warfare: they are learning to counter missiles and various types of drones, including fiber-optic drones, from FPV to long-range drones.
"What will they do with this knowledge? At the very least, they will bring this experience and knowledge home to North Korea," the president emphasizes.
About cooperation with Japan
Ukraine seeks to achieve defense cooperation with Japan, as it is one of the countries that has licenses or its own production of missiles and air defense systems capable of countering ballistic threats, Zelensky says.
For its part, Ukraine is ready to share technologies in the fields of maritime drones, cybersecurity, interceptor drones, energy management, and critical infrastructure in times of crisis.
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