Ukraine expects the end of the war within two to six months

Negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow will become possible, according to Podoljak, only if the situation on the ground changes and Russia no longer feels that it can impose unilateral conditions. Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arashamia said on Friday that Kyiv would not rejoin the table until it was in a stronger position.

Podoljak warns of territorial concessions to Russia. They will by no means end the war. “Russia asserts in principle – and Putin has said this many times – that the very existence of the state of Ukraine is harmful.” So Podoljak is convinced that the Russian invasion was not aimed at occupying certain regions, but at destroying Ukraine as a whole. It is also why President Zelensky does not want to negotiate with Moscow until Russian forces withdraw from the area they have occupied since February 24.

80,000 dead

After more than 100 days of war, Podoljak estimates the number of Russian dead at 80,000. This concerns soldiers and pro-Russian separatist fighters, as well as Wagner mercenaries. At the beginning of the war, up to 1,000 deaths per day were reported on the Russian side, Podoljak said, but the number of casualties in the two camps is currently comparable. Zelensky previously stated that Ukraine is now experiencing losses of up to 100 dead and 500 wounded per day.

On the square itself, the Ukrainians say they managed to retake land from the Russians in Severodonetsk, an important city in the Donbass where fierce fighting has been going on for some time.