Zelenskyy rejects neutrality, vows to defend Ukraine’s independence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reaffirmed that, although his country remains resolute in its pursuit of a resolution to the war with Russia, it will not entertain any settlement that undermines its sovereignty or compromises its national independence.

Speaking during a joint press conference with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna, Zelenskyy firmly dismissed the prospect of Ukraine adopting a neutral status, citing past experience with non-alignment, Caliber.Az reports per Ukrainian media.

“It’s very clear how it all ended,” Zelenskyy said, referencing Ukraine’s neutral status in 2014. “And it ended with the beginning of the war. The occupation of the Crimean peninsula and the occupation of part of eastern Ukraine, part of Donetsk, Lugansk regions. Although we had a non-aligned status.”

The Ukrainian leader emphasized that the war was not triggered by Ukraine’s affiliation with any military alliance, but rather by a broader geopolitical vulnerability.

“All this superfluous narrative. We didn’t have enough certainty. Our army didn’t have enough strength, and our leaders didn’t have enough leadership, it seems to me… And Europe didn’t have enough unity,” Zelenskyy said.

He stressed that the war must not end through ultimatums or concessions that jeopardize Ukraine’s independence. “We want to end the war, but not ultimatistically, and not at the expense of Ukraine’s independence,” he stated.

By Vafa Guliyeva