‘RETURN ALL LANDS’

Volodymyr Zelensky Says Ukraine Will Fight Until It Recoups All Land

“We must return all lands . . . because I believe that the battlefield is the way when there is no diplomacy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Financial Times.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to Russia's recent attacks on his country's infrastructure—which have left Ukraine nearly entirely in the dark this week—by insisting that he won’t stop military advances until all land occupied by Russia is recouped. “We must return all lands,” Zelensky told the Financial Times, “because I believe that the battlefield is the way when there is no diplomacy.”

The Ukrainian president also praised his country’s energy workers, who he says worked to quickly restore power to the country of 43 million—80 percent of which lost access to power or water at some point this week. Fresh off a string of military victories that sent Russian troops fleeing from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Zelensky hinted that an attack on Crimea may soon be a target, unless Russian authorities were willing to cede the peninsula back to Ukraine diplomatically. “I understand that everyone is confused by the situation and what will happen to Crimea,” Zelensky said. “If someone is ready to offer us a way regarding the de-occupation of Crimea by non-military means, I will only be in favor.”