Ukraine's Zelenskiy calls Russian leaders 'bandits', rules out frozen conflict

[June 28, 2023]  By Pavel Polityuk
 
KYIV (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Russia's political and military leaders as bandits on Wednesday, and ruled out any peace plan that would turn the war on Ukraine into a frozen conflict.  

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses lawmakers during a session of the Ukrainian parliament dedicated the Constitution Day, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 28, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

Zelenskiy made his remarks in a speech to parliament on Ukraine's Constitution Day, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his troops for their handling of a mutiny by mercenaries led by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Declaring that Ukraine was "on the way to victory", he said Russia's leaders must not escape justice for waging war on his country.

"The political and military leadership of the Russian Federation should not escape justice due to the fact that they supposedly have immunity, like state leaders," Zelenskiy told the Rada, or parliament.

"They are not the leaders of the state - they are bandits who seized control of the state institutions of Russia... and began to terrorise the whole world."

He described the Russian president as being afflicted by "madness".

Zelenskiy signalled that he remains opposed to any peace plan that freezes territorial gains made by Russia since it invaded Ukraine.

"Ukraine will not agree to any of the variants for a frozen conflict," he said.

Zelenskiy has drawn up a 10-point peace "formula" that includes restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's state borders.

The plan would involve a return to the 1991 borders of Ukraine after it won independence from the Soviet Union, and Zelenskiy has said repeatedly that this should be the basis of any proposal for ending the war .

Kyiv has also launched a counteroffensive to try to retake occupied territory, but Russian forces still hold swathes of territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.

In his speech, Zelenskiy called for a nationwide discussion on a future doctrine for Ukraine "to answer all fundamental questions about Ukraine and our future" and provide "a common vision of what victory should be for Ukraine."

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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