Ukraine's lead negotiator has ruled out any ceasefire deal in which Kyiv would cede territory to Russia or allow Russian troops to remain on its land.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is leading talks with Moscow said such concessions would backfire as Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting.
"The war will not stop. It will just be put on pause for some time," Mr Podolyak said in an interview with Reuters in the presidential office in Kyiv.
"They'll start a new offensive, even more bloody and largescale."
"The [Russian] forces must leave the country and after that the resumption of the peace process will be possible," Mr Podolyak said, referring to recent calls from US defense secretary Lloyd Austin and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi for an immediate ceasefire as "very strange".
Kyiv's stance has become increasingly uncompromising as Russia has experienced military setbacks and as Ukrainian officials grow worried they might be pressured to sacrifice land for a peace deal.
"The war must end with the complete restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's presidential chief of staff said in a Twitter post yesterday.
This story is from the May 23, 2022 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 23, 2022 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
After five years stuck in the pits, China gets back in gear
A lot has happened since Formula One last visited China. Back in April 2019, the sport was celebrating its 1,000th race as Lewis Hamilton won for a sixth time at the Shanghai International Circuit at the start of a season that would see him win a sixth world championship. Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel were the other drivers on the podium.
Man City treble dreams killed by kings of Europe
Real Madrid won 3-4 on penalties, 4-4 on aggregate
Gunners fail to raise game again in meek performance
Bayern Munich win 3-2 on aggregate
Stubborn inflation rate kills off interest rate cut for now
The inflation genie has given warning that it isn’t quite ready to return to its bottle, sharpening the Bank of England’s interest rate dilemma.
MADE IN BRITAIN
With 62 screens and 31 hours of footage, John Akomfrah's 'Listening All Night to the Rain' is a visual feast exploring the UK experience, writes Mark Hudson at the Venice Biennale
How tragedy struck the cult group of rave and baggy
They were the \"southern Happy Mondays\": a gang of north London scruffbags who burst out of late-Eighties British clubland, perfectly formed to fit with the then-dominant culture, at the sweet spot where acid house met baggy.
'It was built into the story that we'd have sexist trolls'
The 'She-Hulk' star Tatiana Maslany talks to Tom Murray about Marvel fan misogyny, her part in the actors' strike and what she thinks about the recent revelations around kids' TV
Cavill's embrace of chivalry is all a bit strange in 2024
The Superman actor apparently ‘stands up every time a lady walks into a room' - a kind gesture but also one that whiffs of sexism, writes Oliver Keens. Isn't all this a tad outdated?
Big Apple jurors worming out of Trump trial selection
New Yorkers’ busy lives are under the microscope in Donald Trump’s hush-money case, as potential jurors have been bringing up their jobs, their political views, their busy schedules and even their dogs during jury selection in the Manhattan courtroom.
Strike on flat kills at least 17 as Ukraine requests support
At least 17 people have been killed after three Russian missiles slammed into a busy area of the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for more air defences to protect civilians.