Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine cannot afford a stalemate in the war against Russia, saying this would create a "volcano that is sleeping but will definitely wake up."
"We cannot afford any stalemate," Zelenskiy told African journalists in Kyiv. "If we want to end the war, we must end it. End with respect so that the whole world knows that whoever came, captured, and killed, is responsible."
According to Zelenskiy, if the war becomes a stalemate, the next generations of Ukrainians will have to fight because Russia "will come again if it is not put in its place."
Zelenskiy’s comments come two weeks after General Valeriy Zaluzhniy, commander in chief of the Ukrainian military, said in The Economist that the war had "reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate."
Zelenskiy admitted that the situation on the battlefield remains very difficult, but said he does not believe that the war has reached a stalemate. He emphasized that Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia until Russia completely withdraws from Ukrainian territories.
Zelenskiy on November 15 also spoke by phone with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his press service said.
The two leaders talked about the situation on the battlefield, defense cooperation with an emphasis on strengthening Ukrainian air defense, and "increasing the capabilities of mobile fire groups to combat [drones]."
Zelenskiy thanked Canada for a new sanctions package and praised Ottawa's initiative to create an international coalition for the return of deported Ukrainian children. Canada proposed the coalition at a summit of national security and foreign policy advisers on Ukraine's peace formula in Malta on October 29.
Zelenskiy and Trudeau "coordinated the next steps regarding the development of this initiative at the highest level," the president's office said in a statement.
In other diplomacy, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal held a meeting with Pierre Elbronn, special representative of the president of France for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
"We discussed the involvement of the private sector in reconstruction. We are preparing specific projects in this direction," Shmyhal said on November 15.
He also thanked France for extending the mandate of the French Development Agency to Ukraine and pointed to "a number of examples of establishing ties between the communities of Ukraine and France."
Elbronn announced his trip to Ukraine earlier, saying he would meet with government officials. He also published a photo with representatives of the regions of Ukraine, naming infrastructure projects in the Mykolayiv region and Dnipro as among the initiatives discussed.
"Our French regions are also considering cooperation with the regions of Ukraine on an equal basis," the official added.
