Zelensky Expects a Non-Aggression Statement from Putin

The Ukrainian president assured that Ukraine will not attack Russia, and wants the same statement from Putin. President Volodymyr Zelensky expects an official statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia is not planning an invasion of Ukraine. He said this during a press marathon on Friday, November 26. “We hear from the Russians, “there’s something is missing for calling a meeting”. When I say that we are definitely not advancing anywhere – we know this for sure, we are just defending our country, and I think that if they don't aren’t planning escalation the President of the Russian Federation should also publicly say that Russia is not preparing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It seems to me that it would be important now… If they don't want a meeting, let's talk on the phone, let's say it publicly that the Russian Federation is not preparing a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” he said. Zelensky also noted that Ukraine has never attacked Russia. That’s how he commented on the statements in the Russian Federation about the escalation by Ukraine in the Donbas. “I don't really like this state of things, because they are looking for a ground to name a reason nor refusal. Because the history of protecting any population – we have passed it. I want to say in Russian that Ukraine has never attacked Russia, we don’t think of it. When they say “escalation near the borders with Russia” is a bad story and rhetoric, it’s not a border, but a contact line between Ukraine and occupied Ukraine,” Zelensky said. At the same time, the President noted that now there is less Russian force concentrated on the border with Ukraine than there were in the spring. “No, I think the situation is definitely not worse than it was in the spring. I believe that the number of military personnel there is less now, I believe that there are more of them than there should be at the moment of the ceasefire, which we agreed on. We see frequent turnovers. That is, it is precisely in order to show us, via mass media, via satellite and other intelligence that there is an accumulation. We also sometimes see an increase in equipment, it was brought, and then moved away, that is, to see that the accumulation of equipment is also going on. Therefore, there are such risks,” he said. The President also noted that the Russian Federation began to often raise the issue of NATO. “The second signal is that something is not working with Minsk agreements, Ukraine is disrupting Minsk agreements that once stopped a powerful escalation. This is a signal that there may be an escalation,” Zelensky says. The President considers the situation with Nord Stream-2 and migrants in Belarus to be another signal of possible escalation. “That there are problems not only with Ukraine, that you, Europe, have other problems, an accumulation of problems from which you need to get out,” he believes. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had not yet seen publications about the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, but considers them “alarmist”. On the eve of the Kremlin once again stated that they do not plan to attack Ukraine. Корреспондент