"Belarus has lost its sovereignty." Zelensky on Kremlin's political maneuvers

Volodymyr Zelensky claims that Vladimir Putin fully controls both the power structure and the military in Belarus. The President of Ukraine argues that the authorities in Minsk have handed over the country to Russia.

In an interview with the Italian public television RAI, Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the current situation of the war in Ukraine and the Kremlin's plans regarding his country.

According to the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin aims to take over the entirety of Ukraine, just as he did with Belarus.

"We are certain that Putin is not interested in just any territory, city, village, Crimea, or Donbas. He is interested in the complete destruction of Ukraine, annexing all these lands of an independent country to Russia. And he does such things either by force or politically. What he did in Belarus happened without casualties, without bloodshed," he emphasized.

According to Volodymyr Zelensky, Putin has managed to fully subordinate Alexander Lukashenko and his regime. This was achieved without military involvement.

"Putin fully controls both the power bloc and the military on the territory of Belarus. Evidence of this is the attack by the Russian army and the missile attack from Belarusian territory at the beginning of the full-scale invasion"
he stated.

"This means that it is a diplomatic occupation of an independent state and the loss of sovereignty in favor of Belarus," he added.

Volodymyr Zelensky: Turkey will organize peace talks involving Russia

During his visit to Ankara, the President of Ukraine, where he met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told journalists that Turkish authorities are ready to organize a peace summit with the participation of representatives from Russia.

During the press conference, the President of Turkey also confirmed this, emphasizing that his country has been interested in ending the war from the beginning.

"No diplomatic steps have been taken to utilize the negotiating table we established in Istanbul in March 2022 to establish peace (...) We are now ready to organize a peace summit, which will also involve Russia," he stated.

"In the coming period, on one hand, we will stand in solidarity with Ukraine, and on the other hand, we will continue our efforts to end the war with a just peace based on negotiations," he added.