Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told AFP on Friday that his country is not losing its war against Russia, has taken hundreds of square kilometres in a new counteroffensive, and that European troops should deploy right on the front line after any ceasefire.
Ukraine's leader was speaking to AFP in an exclusive interview ahead of the four-year anniversary of the Russian invasion, with the outcome of the war -- or the shape of any deal to end the fighting -- still hanging in the balance.
His assessment of the grinding conflict comes as US President Donald Trump is pushing Kyiv to agree a deal with Moscow, and during one of the most difficult winters for Ukraine's exhausted population and stretched military.
"You can't say that we're losing the war. Honestly, we're definitely not losing it, definitely. The question is whether we will win," Zelensky told AFP journalists at the presidential palace in the Ukrainian capital.Â
"That is the question -- but it's a very costly question," Zelensky added.
Europe's deadliest war since World War II -- unleashed when Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to pour over the Ukrainian border on February 24, 2022 -- has seen tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of military personnel killed on both sides.
Russian forces this winter have dramatically escalated a campaign of systematic strikes on Ukrainian energy sites, attacks that have left millions in the cold and dark for weeks in freezing temperatures.
And now Washington and Moscow are both exerting pressure on Kyiv to give up the embattled Donbas region to the Kremlin in any deal to end the four-year war.
"Both the Americans and the Russians say that if you want the war to end tomorrow, get out of Donbas," Zelensky said about the eastern region that Russia has claimed as its own.
- Ukraine advancing in south -
US-mediated talks in Geneva earlier this week failed to make progress on the key issue of territory in any deal to end the conflict.
Moscow has vowed it will capture the entire Donbas by force if Kyiv does not withdraw, with Putin showing no signs of compromise on his hardline demands to end his four-year invasion.
Ukraine however still controls around one-fifth of the heavily industrialised and fortified Donetsk region, while Russia has seized roughly the entire Lugansk region. The two are together referred to as the Donbas.
Ukraine has repeatedly ruled out pulling its troops out of the region, saying such a move would only embolden Russia.
The demand to cede territory to Russia comes as Kyiv's forces are, according to Zelensky, gaining ground in counterattacks along the southern front line.
"I won't go into too many details," Zelensky said of the advances, "but today I can congratulate our army first and foremost -- all the defence forces -- because as of today, 300 (square) kilometres have been liberated."
He did not say over what timeframe and AFP was unable to verify the claim.Â
Military bloggers have suggested some of those gains could have been aided by sweeping outages of Starlink internet terminals across the Ukraine front, after network owner Elon Musk shut them down following a plea from Kyiv.
Zelensky said Kyiv was taking advantage of the situation, but conceded to AFP that Ukrainian forces had also experienced interruptions due to the outages.
"There are problems, there are challenges," Zelensky said.
But the set backs faced by the Russian side are "much more serious."
As well as demanding territorial concessions, the United States and Russia are pressuring Ukraine to hold presidential elections as part of its sweeping plan for a peace deal.
Zelensky, who has said Ukraine could only hold a vote when the war is over, said Russia was only pushing for a quick vote because the Kremlin wants to remove him from power.
"Let's be honest -- the Russians just want to replace me," Zelensky said.Â
- Security guarantees -
"No one wants elections during a war. Everyone is afraid of its destructive effect," he added.
The Ukrainian leader throughout the invasion has dismissed the possibility of holding elections, given that millions of Ukrainians have been forced abroad by the fighting, or are living in occupied territory.
He has cited the obstacles to holding any vote with fighting ongoing, in particular in towns and cities that are being bombarded by Russia.
Zelensky also said he had not decided if he would stand in a future vote.
The 48-year-old former comedian, who swept to a landslide victory in elections in 2019, has said that a ballot can only be held in Ukraine if its allies offer robust security guarantees to dissuade Russian attacks.
And he told AFP on Friday that Kyiv wants European troops -- earmarked to be deployed in Ukraine in case of a halt in fighting -- to be positioned close to the front.
"We would like to see the contingent closer to the front line. Of course, no one wants to stand on the first line, and of course, Ukrainians would like our partners to stand with us on the front line," Zelensky said.
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