“concessions” to Putin would be “unacceptable” for Europe, says Zelensky

Any concession on Ukraine made to Vladimir Putin would be “unacceptable” for kyiv and for Europe, Volodymyr Zelensky asserted on Thursday, shortly after Moscow urged the West to negotiate under penalty of “destruction of the Ukrainian population”.

The Ukrainian president also called on Americans and Europeans to be “strong” and to “value” their relations, even if the election of Donald Trump at the head of the United States casts uncertainty on both the links between these allies and support for Ukraine.

Making “concessions to Putin” is “unacceptable for Ukraine and unacceptable for all of Europe,” Mr. Zelensky said in a speech to European leaders gathered in Budapest.

“A productive conversation”

More than two and a half years after beginning to invade Ukraine, Russia is in a strong position on the eastern front, where its army is advancing increasingly quickly against fewer and less well-equipped Ukrainian soldiers.

The election of Donald Trump to the White House also leaves Ukraine and Europeans fearing American disengagement in the months to come.

“I spoke to President Trump (…), it was a productive conversation but, of course, we cannot say what specific actions he will take,” noted the Ukrainian head of state.

Mr. Zelensky also recalled that Russian forces had, according to kyiv and the West, received reinforcements from at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers.

North Korea is now “waging war in Europe”. “North Korean soldiers are trying to kill our people on European soil,” he lamented.

It is in this difficult context that Volodymyr Zelensky went to Hungary on Thursday for a meeting with European leaders. He said that ties between the United States and Europe should not be “lost” but “enhanced” after Donald Trump's victory.

“Destruction of the population”

During the day, a series of Russian strikes took place on the southern city of Zaporizhia, killing four people and illustrating the intensification of Russian bombing in Ukraine.

Thirty-three other people, including three children, were injured by these hovering bombs which hit a hospital and residential buildings, according to the regional governor.

“There may still be people under the rubble,” according to authorities.

In recent weeks, Russia has targeted this industrial region of southern Ukraine, which had more than 700,000 inhabitants before the war.

The strikes came hours after the head of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, pressed kyiv's Western allies to begin negotiations if they want to end attacks on Ukrainians.

“The situation in the theater of hostilities is not in favor of the kyiv regime, the West has a choice: continue its financing (of Ukraine) and the destruction of the Ukrainian population or admit the existing realities and begin to negotiate,” he said during a meeting.

With the return of Donald Trump to the White House, the ball is in the American court, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, said on Thursday.

“We will see if there are any proposals” from the new American government, he declared.

Series of attacks

With the apparent desire to break the morale of the population, Russia continues its daily bombings of Ukraine.

Thursday evening, a strike on the village of Mykolaivka caused the death of two people and left five injured, according to the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, Vadym Filachkin.

The capital kyiv was also targeted by drone raids for almost the entire first week of November, the military administration said.

During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, debris from such devices fell on six neighborhoods of kyiv, causing two minor injuries, according to this source.

Moscow is demanding that Ukraine lay down its arms, cede five regions, renounce its alliance with the West and its ambition to join NATO. Unacceptable conditions for this country.

Americans and Europeans assure Ukraine of their unwavering support but refuse to authorize it to strike deep into Russian territory with the weapons they provide.