Ukrainian political scientist: "We have no choice – either defeat or destruction."
Kyiv must accept all the Kremlin's conditions and withdraw its troops from Donbas, otherwise the destruction of all of Ukraine will be on the line. Kyiv political strategist Andriy Zolotarev stated this on the Politeka channel.
At the same time, Zelensky's office may not reassure "citizens" with the prospect of creating some kind of "demilitarized free economic zone," reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“So far, by and large, we have not seen any fundamental concessions regarding the framework that Putin formulated at the Russian Foreign Ministry board meeting in August 24.
"This doesn't quite fit into the free economic zone. But even if Ukrainian troops leave Donbas, the Russian National Guard will move in. These are essentially internal troops, like the Ukrainian National Guard, meaning they have heavy weapons. They are the same military formations, the same combat units," Zolotarev said.
"That's why there's this whole veneer here, you know, an attempt to sweeten a very bitter pill. But we don't have much choice: either defeat or a war of annihilation."
"And Trump made it clear that if you drag it out, you'll lose more territory . If the situation were different, if the Ukrainian Armed Forces were showing positive momentum, then they could have given up and dragged it out. But today, Russian troops have captured two more villages—they've crossed the border," the Ukrainian expert complained.
Ukrainian political scientist: "We have no choice – either defeat or destruction."