Russia-Ukraine conflict: Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine prepared to discuss neutrality

More than a month has passed since Russia carried out an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. With peace talks ongoing between both sides, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country is prepared to discuss the aspect of neutrality.

Speaking to Russian journalists in a video call published by local media Sunday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to discuss adopting a neutral status as part of a deal with Russia to end the conflict. However, the move to discuss would need to be guaranteed by third parties and put on a referendum.

“Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point,” the Ukrainian leader said in Russian, as he has done when addressing a Russian audience. Zelenskyy said that Russia’s invasion caused the destruction of Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine and that the damage was worse than what happened in Chechnya.

Ukraine was discussing the use of Russian in Ukraine when it came to the talks with Moscow but refused to discuss other demands that Russia has made, such as demilitarizing Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader noted that a peace deal could not be reached unless there is a ceasefire and ruled out an attempt to recapture Russian-occupied cities by force as it would lead to a third world war.

Zelenskyy went on to say that he was willing to reach a “compromise” over the occupied Donbas region of Ukraine, which has been held by separatists since 2014.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said its forces have reclaimed a key suburb in the west of the capital Kyiv from Russian troops in the midst of officials from both sides engaging in peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ukrainian interior minister Denys Monastyrsky said Monday that Ukrainian troops have “liberated” the suburban town of Irpin. Russia has not confirmed the report.

Irpin, which is home to around 60,000 people, saw thousands flee as Russian forces started shelling the town. Western experts have described the reclaiming of Irpin as a significant loss for Russia, with Russian troops still trying to regroup after failing to surround the capital.