KYIV - A member of the Ukrainian parliament’s security and defense committee said on Wednesday that he does not expect anything to change regarding the war with Russia in the near future after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv has accepted a 30-day ceasefire proposal made by the United States following talks in Saudi Arabia.
“I think that nothing will definitely change in the coming days. There were rumors that a 30-day ceasefire might be possible,” Oleksandr Fedienko told Rudaw.
“I want to emphasize one more thing: okay, we can agree on a ceasefire, for example, to stop shelling civilian cities, including rocket attacks, mortar attacks, and attacks on ports that ship agricultural products. But regarding the line of combat contact, in my opinion, nothing will change in the near future,” he added.
Russia launched a military campaign against Ukraine in February 2022 after it claimed the West failed to provide security guarantees that Ukraine would not join the NATO military alliance.
The following is the full transcript of the interview with Fedienko:
Rudaw: What is the best solution for Ukraine to end this war?
Fedienko: This is a very difficult question because, as of today, unfortunately, there is no clear solution. The negotiating team continues to work in order to find appropriate solutions. What is very important in this issue are the guarantees that Ukraine must receive to ensure this war does not continue. Any interim decisions, such as a 30-day ceasefire or other issues related to the line of combat contact, can be quite difficult to implement because Russia will definitely restore its combat capability and will likely be able to attack our troops on our territory again. Therefore, it is essential during the negotiation process to first secure appropriate guarantees from partners, which must be formalized in legal documents that must be signed.
I also understand Russia's position, at least to prevent this war from resuming in a year or two. I want to emphasize again that Ukraine is currently the focus of all attention from the perspective of protecting European communities from Russian aggression. Therefore, there is no clear answer yet, but guarantees are crucial.
I understand that you are not directly participating in the negotiations, however, as far as you know, what are the Americans' demands for ending this war, with Ukraine in mind?
Look, we can discuss what is publicly available information. Of course, there is some information that is classified and within the negotiating group. But publicly, many American politicians suggest that Ukraine may need to give up some of its territory. This is their opinion.
From what I can see, the European community does not support this idea. And of course, our negotiating team does not support this opinion, which is why the statements are as they are. What the final agreement will look like, we will only know once the relevant negotiations are over.
How do you see the situation after 30 days?
I think that nothing will definitely change in the coming days. There were rumors that a 30-day ceasefire might be possible. I want to emphasize one more thing: okay, we can agree on a ceasefire, for example, to stop shelling civilian cities, including rocket attacks, mortar attacks, and attacks on ports that ship agricultural products. But regarding the line of combat contact, in my opinion, nothing will change in the near future.
Modern warfare is primarily not about infantry, but about modern technologies - robots and drones. Ukraine has proven that we are quite effective at deterring enemy attacks and destroying the enemy with the help of drones. Therefore, I think nothing practical will happen in the coming days.
We know that it was announced yesterday that the US has resumed the supply of previously agreed-upon weapons. What will happen if future deliveries, which involve newly allocated weapons, are not those that were previously agreed upon? What if new weapons are not allocated to Ukraine? What will the conditions be for the soldiers at the front, and so on?
Again, I return to where I started. Many modern weapons, even American ones, no longer work on the front line because they are not suitable for modern warfare. Many of the artillery and missile systems we used, provided by our partners to destroy the enemy, have already lost their effectiveness due to electronic warfare systems targeting these very systems.
We need to constantly update these systems and seek new weapons for destruction. Ukraine is one of the few countries that was the first to launch the production of its own weapons. We produce a significant number of mines, drone shells, and electronic warfare systems.
Of course, we need the help and support of our partners. It is very good that the supply of these weapons has resumed. As far as I know, most of these supplies are not so much weapons as mechanized components, such as vehicles and armored personnel carriers. But we will continue to monitor how events on the front evolve. Perhaps the negotiating team will try to achieve a ceasefire under appropriate guarantees, but we will see.
As of today, I believe Ukraine has enough capacity to resist the Russian invasion and stop the Russians with its own weapons and, of course, the weapons provided by its partners.
Do you know, from a legal point of view, what is required for Ukraine to be able to hold elections? What are the necessary conditions for this?
First of all, we need security guarantees because it is impossible to hold elections in Ukraine where a missile could strike at any moment. Sometimes, we are criticized for holding elections during war in other countries, but I want to point out that the war currently taking place in Ukraine is unlike any other in the world. Perhaps we can compare it to World War II. But holding elections in a territory where a missile could land at any moment and kill hundreds or even thousands of civilians is simply not feasible right now.
The war will eventually end, and appropriate guarantees of cessation must be in place. Only after that can we return to the electoral process.
