Aug. 22 () –
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signaled in a speech on Sunday night that he will break off negotiations with Russia if he holds a trial against Ukrainian soldiers captured during the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
“The reaction of our state will be absolutely clear. If this despicable show trial takes place, if our people are brought to this stage in violation of all agreements, it will be a (red) line beyond which any negotiation is impossible,” Zelensky warned.
In this sense, he declared during his usual evening speech, collected by the Ukrainian Presidency, that “there are enough reports in the media” to determine that Moscow is preparing this type of media trials.
Zelenski has also stressed that on Sunday he spoke with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, about “all the threats” from Moscow, and has assured that the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is also informed, while, if these trials take place, the secretary general of the UN, António Guterres, will also react.
“They and other world leaders received appropriate signals from us. They all understand what the occupiers are doing and their threats. They understand that Ukraine will not tolerate it,” the Ukrainian president stressed.
Mariupol became in the first stages of the war one of the main scenes of clashes between Russia and Ukraine. After managing to dominate much of the town, Moscow imposed Konstantin Ivashchenko as mayor and has tried to convey an image of “restoring everyday life”.
Thus, the Azovstal facilities were the symbol of resistance in this town, located on the shore of the Sea of Azov and of special strategic interest to Russia, which is trying to consolidate a land corridor between Donbas and Crimea.
Add Comment