Zelensky: Putin's Demand is the Biggest Gift of War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded for the first time to the ultimatum presented by Russia, which was handed over to Ukraine during negotiations in Istanbul on June 2.

Zelensky made this statement during a press briefing. "This is an ultimatum, and neither the Ukrainian side nor anyone else will take it seriously, as it contains an ultimatum. In other words, this memorandum is a misunderstanding," emphasized Zelensky.

He noted that Ukraine sent a memorandum to Moscow in two languages, Ukrainian and English. However, the memorandum received from the Kremlin was only in Russian. Zelensky mentioned that as of today, Ukraine has not received a response from Russia regarding the ceasefire document that Kyiv had submitted to Moscow prior to the negotiations.

The head of state pointed out that the first point of the Russian memorandum is an "ultimatum," as the Russians demand international recognition of all occupied territories and the withdrawal of troops from them. "This undoubtedly contradicts the UN Charter, contradicts common sense, and the Constitution of Ukraine. By the way, they know about it. This is Putin's demand for the biggest gift of this war," emphasized Zelensky.

Zelensky also commented on the second point of the Russian memorandum, which concerns neutrality and the demand not to join military alliances, particularly NATO. The Ukrainian president underscored that Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014 when Kyiv had a "non-aligned status."

"In other words, they started to occupy us at the time when we had a neutral status. Again, in other words, there is nothing to discuss here," added the head of state.