Farce

Zelensky calls Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories a "farce"

Mick Krever, Victoria Butenko and Olga Voitovych

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Friday that the entire territory of Ukraine would be liberated from Russian control, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal declared annexation of some Ukrainian regions a “farce.”

“The entire territory of our country will be liberated from this enemy – the enemy not only of Ukraine, but also of life itself, humanity, law and truth,” Zelensky said in a pre-recorded address released on Friday afternoon.

“Russia already knows this. It feels our power. It sees that it is here, in Ukraine, that we prove the strength of our values. And that is why it is in a hurry, organizes this farce with the attempted annexation, tries to steal something that does not belong to it, wants to rewrite history and redraw borders with murders, torture, blackmail and lies,” he said.

“Ukraine will not allow that,” he added.

He said peace will be restored only by “ousting the occupiers.”

Zelensky added that while Ukraine was ready for dialogue with Russia, negotiation on “equal, honest, decent and fair terms” was impossible with Putin, so talks would only be possible “with another president of Russia.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday also said that Putin’s claimed annexations of Ukrainian territory change “nothing.”

“Nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity,” Kuleba said in a statement on Twitter.

“By attempting to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Putin tries to grab territories he doesn’t even physically control on the ground,” he said.