(Reuters) -Ukraine should abandon any notion of restoring its borders established with the 1991 collapse of Soviet rule or even those dating from the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion, the country’s former military commander was quoted as saying on Thursday.
Valery Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraine’s ambassador to London, was replaced as top commander in February 2024 after months of reported disagreements between him and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelenskiy and other public figures have long called for the eviction of Russian forces and a return to Ukraine’s 1991 post-Soviet borders, including Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
But as efforts over recent months have focused on launching talks to secure a ceasefire, public statements by Kyiv have been more moderate on the question of ceding territory.
“I hope that there are not people in this room who still hope for some kind of miracle or lucky sign that will bring peace to Ukraine, the borders of 1991 or 2022 and that there will be great happiness afterward,” the RBK Ukraine news site quoted Zaluzhnyi as telling a forum in Kyiv.
“My personal opinion is that the enemy still has resources, forces and means to launch strikes on our territory and attempt specific offensive operations.”
Zaluzhnyi said Russia had been waging a war of attrition for a year and, given Ukraine’s smaller forces and difficult economic circumstances, its only hope was to rely on advanced technology.
“We can speak only about a high-tech war of survival, using a minimum of economic means to achieve maximum benefit,” he was quoted as saying.
Opinion polls show Zaluzhnyi to be among the most popular public figures with Ukrainians. Polls also show Zelenskiy’s rating rising since his confrontation with U.S. President Donald Trump at a White House meeting in February.
With Trump attempting to pressure both Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict, Ukraine has agreed to launch direct talks with Russia but first wants a ceasefire lasting at least 30 days.
The European Union, in the absence of Russian agreement on a ceasefire, this week imposed new sanctions on Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said discussions on a memorandum it proposes to draft with Ukraine would include the principles of a settlement and the timing and definitions of a possible ceasefire, including its time frame.
(Reporting by Ron PopeskiEditing by Rod Nickel)
