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Zelenskyy: Russia Is the Aggressor, Ukraine the Victim—No Neutral Ground Exists
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![Amira_barkhush]( "Photo of Amira Barkhush")
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized during an interview with CBS, published on April 14, that when confronting aggression, there is no room for neutrality—there is a clear aggressor and a clear victim.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there had been not just “a shift in tone” in the United States, but “a shift in reality,” suggesting that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s narrative had begun to influence the Trump administration. He specifically called out Vice President JD Vance.
“It’s a shift in tone, a shift in reality, and I don’t want to engage in the altered reality that is being presented to me. First and foremost, we did not launch an attack [to start the war],” Zelenskyy stated.
“It seems to me that the Vice President is somehow justifying Putin’s actions. I tried to explain, ‘You can’t look for something in the middle. There is an aggressor and there is a victim. The Russians are the aggressor, and we are the victim.’”
On March 19, Zelenskyy outlined key issues that will not be subject to negotiation with Russia in any future peace talks, reiterating Kyiv’s stance on Russian-occupied territories, stressing that these areas remain temporarily occupied and will never be recognized as Russian.
The energy ceasefire agreement, mediated by the US, came into effect on March 25 and was intended to halt attacks on energy and port infrastructure. Ukraine has stated that it is complying with the arrangement, while Russian officials claimed the ceasefire began on March 18.
Despite the agreement, Russian forces have launched multiple strikes on energy infrastructure in recent weeks, including attacks in Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and now Kherson regions.
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-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
