Ukraine cannot hope for a miracle to regain all the territory lost in the war with Russia. Kiev should not dream of restoring either the borders established with the collapse of Soviet power in 1991, or the borders before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. This was stated by the former head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, quoted by Reuters.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to restore the country's 1991 borders, but admits that Ukraine cannot regain all the occupied territory by military means. According to him, diplomacy should be relied on for this purpose. He said it would be a long process.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Few countries, however, have recognized Crimea as Russian territory. Moscow's forces currently control about 20 percent of Ukraine's territory.
Zaluzhnyi is not optimistic that Ukraine can regain its 1991 borders. He said the enemy still has the resources, forces and means to strike Ukrainian territory and carry out specific offensive operations.
Zaluzhnyi, 51, was replaced as commander of the armed forces in February 2024 after months of reported disagreements between him and Zelensky. He is now Ukraine's ambassador to London.
Earlier this month, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that Ukraine may have to temporarily cede land as part of a peace deal with Russia. He said Zelensky could be forced to make a "painful decision" to achieve peace, although the Ukrainian people will never accept occupation by Russia.
Zaluzny pointed out that for more than a year and a half, Russia has been waging a war of attrition. He said that given Ukraine's smaller forces and difficult economic circumstances, Kiev's only hope is to rely on advanced technology. "We can only talk about a high-tech war of survival, using a minimum of human resources, a minimum of economic means to achieve maximum benefit," he said.
The European Union, due to the lack of a Russian ceasefire agreement, this month imposed new sanctions on Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that discussions on the memorandum he proposes to draw up with Ukraine will include the principles of the settlement and the timing and definitions of a possible ceasefire, including its timeframe.