Zelensky: Pause in war will allow Putin to accumulate forces

He said this in an interview for the Cinque Minuti program of the Italian TV channel Rai1, Ukrinform reports.

"A break in the war is a big challenge, it would be a big problem for Ukraine, for its preservation, for its future, and a big problem of a frozen conflict would be for the whe of Eure. We had such an experience after the occupation of Crimea and part of Donbas. It was similar to what is now being said in some media and by some leaders, when they say that a pause is needed, and this all means freezing the conflict. Some call it a ceasefire. But we have been through this. This pause in the war is not a pause in the war, it is a pause for Putin," Zelensky said.

According to him, Putin needs such a pause to build up his strength.

"They [Russia] have a shortage of missiles, they are trying to buy them from Iran and have already taken them from North Korea. They have a shortage of artillery shells, and they take them from North Korea and Iran. They need this pause because they have a lack of experienced military personnel, because they lost them on our territory. They lack officers and trained sdiers. This pause will play into Putin's hands," the President emphasized.

He reminded that Russia had already taken similar steps in the past. When the conflict in eastern Ukraine was virtually frozen after 2014, it allowed Russia to build up its armaments and accumulate forces, and then invade Ukraine.

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"And he [Putin] can do the same thing again. Because no one was responsible for the guarantees that were in the Normandy format and at the level of the Minsk process. And no one is responsible for Russia's fulfillment of its promises. At least while Putin is president," Zelensky emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President of Ukraine Vodymyr Zelensky has already spoken about the possibility of freezing the war, calling it an unacceptable tion for Ukraine, as it would play into the hands of the aggressor. According to him, Western allies are not currently pressuring Ukraine to freeze the conflict.

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