Ukraine Prez ready for ‘compromise’ to end war as Kyiv burns

March 22, 2022 34 Views No Comment

March 22 (ANI) Amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he was prepared to discuss a commitment from Ukraine not to seek North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) membership in exchange for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine’s security.

Reiterating his stance of not surrendering, Zelenskyy said, “Let’s say they demand to get Kharkiv, or Mariupol, or Kyiv. People in these cities won’t let them do it. The only way they can seize the cities is to kill everyone, and take the empty city.”

Speaking on the NATO membership, Zelenskyy said, “NATO should either say now that they are accepting us, or openly say they are not accepting us because they are afraid of Russia — which is true.”

“And then we need to calm down and say — ok, there are NATO member countries that can provide us security guarantees without a membership in NATO,” he added according to the media outlet.

“That’s where the compromise exists. That’s where the end of the war is,” he said.

Zelenskyy also said that there cannot be any ‘denazification’ in the agreement with Russia, reported Ukraine-based media outlet, The Kyiv Independent.

“When a country that is treading in the footsteps of the Nazi is accusing us of being Nazi — we can’t accept that,” the media outlet quoted him as saying during an interview to Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster.

Notably, Zelenskyy on Sunday had said that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if his country would have been a member of the NATO

“If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn’t have started. I’d like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people. If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately because people are dying on a daily basis,” CNN quoted Zelenskyy as saying during an exclusive interview.

Meanwhile, new satellite images from Maxar Technologies shows damage from Moscow military strikes across Irpin, northwest of Kyiv in Ukraine.

Two distinct fires are seen in central Irpin near a complex of city government and apartment buildings.

The images show fires from military strikes and growing flooding from the Irpin River, CNN reported.

The images, taken on Monday, also show Russian artillery positions west of the Russian-held Antonov Air Base northwest of the capital, Kyiv.

Two other fires can also be seen in another satellite image among a group of buildings near a school in the city and a residential area near a lake.

An additional satellite image shows growing floodwaters from the Irpin River.

It’s unclear how the dam began flooding the Irpin River basin, whether the gates were opened on purpose by the Ukrainians to flood the area, or it was hit by a military strike.

According to CNN, a dam along the Dnieper River was flooding the Irpin River basin and its tributaries.

The Irpin River is critical to the Russian advance toward Kyiv; if the Russians cannot cross it, they can’t take Kyiv from the west.

— with inputs from agencies