President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out the possibility of visiting Moscow for direct talks with the Russian leadership on ending the war, according to Reuters.
For the sake of my country, I am ready to visit any place on the planet. But, of course, not now, and certainly not in Moscow. There is simply no question of that, “Zelensky said in an interview with the Russian edition of Mediazone, reprinted in the Austrian newspaper Standart.
However, in other conditions and under other rulers in Moscow, anything is possible, “he added.
The interview came as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced victory in the biggest battle of the war in Ukraine. Zelensky said Russia’s political leadership had made a “catastrophic mistake” by invading his country and dragging the Russian people into a situation for which its leaders were responsible.
From now on, many countries will no longer have to worry about whether a Russian is good or bad. All Russians will be treated badly. Russia has achieved this. After all, this is not my business, but it should scare the Russian people, said the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky responded to a statement by Russia’s defense minister, saying that Moscow controlled most of Mariupol, but that Ukrainian troops were still in Mariupol.