Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Zelensky will never negotiate with Putin

“It is clear that we will never be able to see Putin and Zelensky sitting at the same table... We can negotiate with Russia after they withdraw their troops from our territory, but not with Putin,” Mr. Kuleba emphasized.

Asked whether this meant an escalation of the conflict, Foreign Minister Kuleba argued that "the worst has already happened, nothing can surprise us anymore" and that war was already underway from the start.

“The counter-offensive will soon bring us victory and we will continue to fight, we have no other choice,” he added.

“It is not easy for our soldiers. But, in the end, we will make it,” Kuleba said of the offensive, which he described as “progressing slowly but steadily.” He said that time was on Ukraine’s side “due to the simple fact that our military capabilities are increasing, while Russia’s are decreasing,” and Kiev “believed in the fact that the war would end in our favor at some point.” Kuleba would certainly thank Italy for the weapons and supplies it has delivered to Ukraine, noting that nothing is enough “until we win the war.”

Mr. Kuleba also requested more artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems. NATO-trained Ukrainian brigades, equipped with Western tanks and armored vehicles, have been unable to overcome Russian outposts on the southern front since early June, at a cost of 43,000 lives. Meanwhile, Russian troops have advanced north, threatening Ukraine’s control of the key city of Kupiansk.

Last October, Zelensky banned any Ukrainians from negotiating with Putin. The following month, Zelensky proposed a “peace platform” that demanded Russia’s unconditional withdrawal from territories Kiev claims as its own, including Crimea. Kiev has insisted that this is the only acceptable framework for negotiations since then. Russia has dismissed it as an ultimatum and insisted that Ukraine’s recognition of reality be a prerequisite for any peace talks.