Ukrainian president says war with Russia a worst-case possibility

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that all-out war with neighbouring Russia was a possibility, and that he wanted to have a substantive meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asked at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) summit if there could really be all out-war with Russia, which seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and backs pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s east, Zelenskiy said: “I think there can be.”

“It’s the worst thing that could happen, but unfortunately there is that possibility,” he added, speaking in Ukrainian.

Kyiv says the conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed 14,000 people since 2014.

Zelenskiy said relations with the United States had improved, but bemoaned the fact that Ukraine had not received a clear answer to its request to join the NATO military alliance – a move that would be certain to infuriate Moscow.

“We have not received … a direct position on Ukraine’s accession to NATO,” he said. “Ukraine has been ready for a long time.”

He said a refusal to admit Ukraine would weaken NATO while playing into Russia’s hands.

Tensions between Kyiv and Moscow increased earlier this year when fighting in eastern Ukraine intensified and Russia massed more troops near the border.

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