Ukraine is ready to discuss adopting a neutral regime under a peace deal with Russia, but such an agreement would have to be guaranteed by third parties and put to a referendum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement broadcast Sunday. Zelensky spoke to Russian journalists in a 90-minute video call, an interview that Moscow authorities had cautiously warned the Russian media against refraining from reporting. Zelensky spoke in Russian all the time, as he did in previous speeches when he was targeting a Russian audience. Zelensky said the Russian invasion had caused the destruction of Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine and said the damage was worse than the Russian wars in Chechnya. “Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear regime of our state. We are ready to do it. “This is the most important point,” Zelensky said. Zelensky said Ukraine had refused to discuss some other Russian demands, such as the demilitarization of the country. Live updates for Ukraine Speaking more than a month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Zelensky said no peace deal would be possible without a ceasefire and troop withdrawals. He ruled out trying to seize all Russian-occupied territory by force, saying it would lead to a third world war and said he wanted a “compromise” on the eastern Donbas region, which is being held by supported by Russia since 2014. Russia says it is conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine to demilitarize its neighbor. Ukraine and its Western allies call it a pretext for an unprovoked invasion. Zelensky focused on the fate of the eastern port city of Mariupol, which had been under siege for weeks. Once a city of 400,000, it has been subjected to prolonged Russian bombing. “All entrances and exits from the city of Mariupol are blocked,” Zelenski said. “The port is being mined. “A humanitarian catastrophe in the city is clear, because it is impossible to get there with food, medicine and water,” he said. “I do not even know to whom the Russian army has ever been treated like this,” he said, adding that, compared to the Russian wars in Chechnya, the scale of the disaster “could not be compared.” Russia has denied that it targeted civilians in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have exchanged responsibilities for failing to open humanitarian corridors. Zelensky refuted Moscow’s claims that Ukraine had restricted the rights of Russian-speakers, saying it was Russia’s invasion that wiped out Russian-speaking cities “from the face of the earth.” He also dismissed as “funny” Russia’s claims that Ukraine had nuclear or chemical weapons. The Morning and Afternoon Newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
