The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while talking about the situation in Mariupol, has expressed the confidence, that the closeness of the negotiations with putin depends on how long the UAF are going to hold their positions in this city.
Zelenskyy has told that in his interview for the APNews, published on Sunday, April 10.
“Mariupol is the heart of this war, as of today. It is beating. We are fighting. We are strong. If it stops beating, we will have weaker positions. The stronger is our position in Mariupol, the stronger will be our position in the east of the country. And our positions will be stronger in the JFO. And, if they are going to be stronger, then the negotiation table is going to be closer for us, and we will have advantages in the dialogue with the rf,” he has said.
At the same time, as the head of the state has mentioned, if Ukraine’s positions get weaker, the meeting with president putin might not happen.
“If we have a weak situation in all these directions, then we might not expect the meeting, because russia will make all the steps that might take them to those places we have already de-occupied. They might do this, too. And our situation in the negotiations in going to be weaker there. And maybe even not interesting to the rf. This might happen. Regretfully. But we believe in a different outcome, in our victory,” Zelenskyy has added.
Russian occupying forces have started a “mopping-up” in Mariupol and are killing the civilians simply in the streets, the advisor to the city mayor Petro Andriushchenko has reported.
The occupiers have also started the mobile crematoriums in Mariupol “to sweep away the traces” of destroying the civilians. Based on the city council estimates, dozens of thousands of civilian residents in Mariupol could have been the victims of the russians.