Victory in this war will come on the battlefield, but ending it will still take diplomacy, says Zelensky

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky
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Russia's war against Ukraine - the main events of May 21

“Now [the war] looks like a car – it’s not run on gasoline or electricity, it’s hybrid, that’s why the war is so complicated which is why winning it is so hard,” Zelensky said.

Read also: Ten reasons why Ukraine’s victory over Russia is crucial for the world

“It’s going to be bloody on the battlefields, but the final stage of the war will occur with diplomacy.”

Read also: Russian ‘security elite’ understands that the war is lost, Bellingcat says

He added that some things can’t be resolved on the battlefields, but only at the table of negotiations.

“We want all [of our territories] to be given back, while the Russian Federation doesn’t want to give anything back,” Zelensky noted.

Read also: Zelensky's office confirms Ukraine-Russia peace talks suspended

Ukrainian diplomacy has already persuaded many of the world’s powers to take its side, such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, the U.K., Japan, as well as the EU and G7.

Most United Nations member states have publicly condemned Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Retired U.S. army general Ben Hodges expects the Ukrainian army to push Russian invaders back to the February 23 line by end of summer.

Read also: No deals with Russia before complete liberation of all Ukrainian territories — Zelensky’s chief-of-staff

Meanwhile, Yuriy Butusov, a Ukrainian military analyst, believes Russian will run out of resources for supplying its army by autumn.

In Russia, propaganda has already begun to circulate to prepare public opinion to possibility that they will not achieve their goals for the war. One example is the recent appearance of Russian military expert Mikhail Hodaryonok on Skabeeva’s show, which has gone viral on social media. Hodaryonok said that Ukrainian army is stronger than the Russian army.

Russia is attempting to mobilize conscripts from poorer parts of the country, but without an active declaration of war, they have been unable to raise the numbers needed. Instead, the Russians are attempting to bolster their numbers with forced mobilization, especially in areas such as occupied Crimea, as the Crimean Tatar population is generally reluctant to serve in the Russian military. Similar stories of forced mobilization have been noted in occupied Donbas.