Zelenskyy: Ukraine and West have different understanding of victory

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Getty Images)

Ukraine and its Western partners may have different ideas about what constitutes a victory, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I think that for America and for Europe, for many countries that invest in defense, it is important for them that Ukraine wins. We just may have a different attitude to the word victory," the president said.

He said that he constantly hears the rhetoric of the West that it is not necessary to prevent the aggressor from fully occupying Ukraine. According to Zelenskyy, the fact that Western partners began to help Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and prevented the full occupation of Ukraine is a victory for them.

"And then comes what we really want. Because for us, the final victory... for all of us, victory is a moment of satisfaction. Do you understand? These are different things. For the West, the main victory is to prevent the occupation of Ukraine, but at the same time, everyone is afraid that Russia will collapse. I hear these messages. Everyone is afraid of what will happen to Russia without Putin, everyone is afraid of whether it can remain as it is and not become even worse. I do not support such messages. That's why I said we have a different understanding of victory. I am grateful that you did not allow us to be occupied, but satisfaction is important. That's why we want a real victory," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, the main message is that there is no need to be afraid of what will happen to Russia.

"Do not be afraid of what will happen to Russia after Putin. As soon as the West stops being afraid of what will happen to Russia without Putin, Russia without Putin will come sooner. It is impossible to help Ukraine with one hand and shake hands with Putin with the other. We will not defeat Russia this way. We are all those who are defending not only Ukraine, but Ukraine defending all the democratic countries to which Putin can go further," he said.

Zelenskyy noted that talk of "the borders of '91" - is not just a victory for Ukraine. This is a way to put the aggressor in his place and a historic victory for the whole world so that there is no possibility of aggression returning.

"For Ukraine, the impossibility of returning aggression means NATO and the EU, and for the world, it means Russia's return to its territory," he emphasized.

Risks of a war between NATO and Russia

After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western countries began to think about the risks to themselves. In particular, they are considering a war between Russia and NATO.

Recently, Estonian intelligence has stated that Russia is already preparing for the next war and it could happen within the next 10 years.