We Are Not Ready to Accept Russian Ultimatums: Kuleba

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, has stated that Kyiv is ready for negotiations with Russia but will not accept ultimatums from the Russian side. He expressed this opinion in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt on Thursday during his visit to Germany, as reported by TASS.

“We are ready for negotiations, but we are not ready to accept Russian ultimatums,” Kuleba said, emphasizing that if the situation escalates, “Kyiv will deliver a retaliatory strike.”

At the same time, Kuleba argued that the Russian Federation does not wish to sit at the negotiation table but intends to continue military operations. “The real issue is that Russia is not ready to conduct genuine and meaningful negotiations,” said the Ukrainian minister.

Additionally, he noted that Kyiv needs three things to win: Ukrainian resilience, character, and combat readiness, the supply of necessary weapons, and sanctions against Russia. “If all three factors come together, then we will win this war,” the minister stated.

He also admitted that Ukraine's economy has suffered more due to the ongoing conflict than that of Russia. “Despite the fact that sanctions are very important and have an impact, they cannot stop the Russian military machine as long as Europe continues to buy Russian oil and gas,” Kuleba said.