Ukraine capable of repelling Russian aggression, does not intend to hold referendum on territories – Yermak
Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak is convinced of Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression and stated that the Ukrainian side will not accept any ultimatum.
"After 11 years of war, we control over 25% of Donbas. Over the past 1,000 days of fighting, the Russians have captured only 1% of Ukraine, suffering very heavy losses in their army. We must understand that we are not losing, and the Russians are not winning. This is certainly a difficult situation, like every war, but we will not accept blackmail with any ultimatum; we can still fight," Yermak said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriera della sera.
When asked whether the possibility of holding a referendum on amending the Constitution to recognize the Russian occupation of certain territories was being considered, the head of the President's Office replied: "No, we are not doing this, and at the moment we do not intend to cede any part of our land."
"But today we are realistic and know that the aggressor has occupied some regions, and so far we are not able to liberate them with the help of weapons. At the same time, we want to stop the war and ensure that it does not happen again in the future. Zelenskyy will discuss this with Putin. It should be made clear that we agreed with the Americans that there are no preconditions for the summit," Yermak said.
He recalled the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that "all territorial aspects will be considered at his bilateral meeting with Putin." "In addition, negotiations should start from the current front line, and in any case we will not give up our national territories. We recognize the situation created by the war and want to discuss it," the head of the President's Office said.
Yermak does not believe that Vladimir Putin's position has changed, "but he has understood that he cannot turn us into something like a Belarusian repetition." "Putin was surprised by our resilience, and now he is impressed by the new cooperation between us, the EU and Trump. All this pushes him to be more realist," he said.
The President's Office head said that without the United States' help, Ukraine would be "in a much worse position" and called Trump "the first American president who instilled fear in Putin and even forced him to agree to a summit with us." When asked whether Ukraine could do without American military assistance and rely exclusively on European assistance, he replied that "unfortunately, no." "It is true that European support has increased significantly in recent months, but US assistance remains vital," Yermak said.