Photo: Global Look Press
In the current conditions, the settlement of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine by diplomatic means is impossible, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak said in an interview with the Italian edition of La Repubblica.
He accused Russia of unwillingness to negotiate.
“If the Russian army leaves the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea, negotiations can resume,” Podolyak said.
According to him, referendums and the entry into Russia of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions “do not change anything for Ukraine.”
“The Ukrainian army will fight for their release,” he said.
Commenting on the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons, Podolyak said that the chances of this are small, but they are there. He also promised “catastrophic consequences not only for Ukraine” if Russia uses nuclear weapons.
“A global response to a possible nuclear attack will have to be given, in particular, within the EU and NATO,” he said.
On September 30, during his speech in the Kremlin, Putin called on Kiev to stop all hostilities and return to the negotiating table. In response, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine would negotiate with Russia only if Putin ceases to be its president.