– Calls for a coup against Putin – VG
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukraine often talks to Russia – but not as long as Vladimir Putin is president. – A smart move, says a foreign affairs expert to VG.
It was after a meeting of the National Security Council on Friday that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this, reproduced by Nastoyazhchey Vremya.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has offered Russia coexistence “on equal, honest, dignified and fair terms”.
– But it is clear that this is impossible with this Russian president. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. That is why we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president in Russia.
Charlotte Flindt Pedersen, director at The foreign policy society in Copenhagen, tells VG that this is “very smart” by the Ukrainian president.
– What Zelenskyj proposes to her is to try to pressure the environment around Putin. Those who are afraid that Putin will press the nuclear button
– Explain!
– In a way, he encourages buying against Putin. At the same time, Zelenskyj offers something if they were to depose Putin. When he says that Ukraine is ready to negotiate, he also says that it is something to negotiate about. At the same time, he says that this does not apply as long as Putin is in power. You and others must ensure that he is removed and that both sides can benefit from it.
Charlotte Flindt Pedersen refers to Putin’s speech in the Kremlin on Friday where he – at least between the lines – put forward peace negotiations if Ukraine accepts the annexation of the four occupied territories. Zelenskyy has long said that this is not relevant.
– The statement from Zelenskyj is very clever, in order to create opposition to Putin internally in Russia. Because this is Putin’s war. He is the only one who controls this now. It is not a politburo like in China or the old Soviet Union. It’s just one man, as it was with Hitler. One man’s war. At some point, the people around Putin will think that «now he is too close to pressing the nuclear button».
- To annex means that a state takes over another state’s territory and declares it its own.
Pulled out of Key City
On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defense also announced that it has withdrawn its troops from the city of Liman in the Donetsk region – one of the regions that Putin annexed on Friday.
As before, Ukrainian authorities announced that they had moved into the city – and they also released a film of soldiers attaching a Ukrainian flag to a sign with the city’s name:
Vladimir Putin signed a new law last week which means that soldiers who surrender «voluntarily» can risk being sentenced to up to ten years in prison.
– Liman is important because it is the next step towards the liberation of the Ukrainian Donbas, says a spokesman for the Ukrainian defense, Serhiy Cherevatyi, according to Reuters.
The Ukrainian defense forces claim that they have already taken over five villages near Liman.