On 8 February 2025, in an interview with the Hungarian edition of Mandiner, AUP Executive Director, journalist Andriy Kovalenko shared details about the current state of the occupied territories of Ukraine and expressed his opinion on the upcoming negotiations with Russia.
According to Kovalenko, the main issue at the talks, which are planned for the near future, will be the potential loss of some territories by Ukraine due to the realities of the current military situation and international politics. At the same time, it is noted that the issues of Ukraine's membership in NATO and the EU remain open and complex.
The original interview can be found on the Mandiner website, below is the English version, translated by the ChatGPT-4o language model.
"The occupied Ukrainian territories cannot be returned by military means" - Andriy Kovalenko for Mandiner
Loss of territory in exchange for security guarantees? EU membership without the prospect of NATO? What do Ukrainians expect from Trump's upcoming plan, which is due to be unveiled next week? We asked Andriy Kovalenko, a journalist who has been working on the front lines for three years.
Keith Kellogg, President Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, will soon present an American plan to resolve the war in Ukraine. What are the expectations of Ukrainians?
We have realised that we have to negotiate with the russians, and it will not be easy for ukrainians. I think the negotiations will raise the issue of Ukraine losing certain territories, and NATO membership will also be a complicated process, we don't know when it might happen, maybe in ten or twenty years, or maybe later. But for me, the most uncertain issue is EU membership.
Trump and Kellogg also pointed out that the russian economy would already have a hard time with the possibility of new sanctions and tariffs imposed by the US, while Ukraine has to face the reality of war. Is Ukrainian society ready for compromise?
This is very difficult for every Ukrainian, but we have realised that we cannot return the territories occupied by Russia by military means, only political means are possible.
If President Zelenskyy agrees to a deal on "territories in exchange for security guarantees", will the majority of Ukrainian society support him?
It is difficult to judge from the point of view of the army, but the majority of the civilian population has realised that Ukrainian troops are currently unable to liberate the territories occupied by russians by military means, so a political solution must be sought. Unfortunately, the reality is that we have to end this war by losing territories. So I think the majority of society will agree with Zelenskyy if he decides to do so.
Andriy Kovalenko helps a foreign television crew interview a captured russian soldier.
Some of our children spent three months in Poland studying. My family is from Kyiv, and at first we spoke russian, but after the invasion I don't teach my children russian, we don't speak russian at home anymore and we won't. I can't imagine that Ukrainians will ever forgive russians, and I can't imagine that these two nations will ever be on friendly terms again.
This war has to end, and we need a lasting peace agreement for that. We need a permanent peace to end this war. We are all tired of war and want to live in peace. We will never forget the crimes of the russians and we will remember every atrocity they committed. We will defend our country, and we will never surrender.
Ukraine is a breeding ground for growth and development, rich in lithium, titanium, graphite, uranium and other mineral resources, not to mention endless fields of grain. Is he not afraid that Ukraine is important to the West only because of this? As a buffer zone, it holds back the Russians, and its resources will be used by Western companies?
This is a natural question, and it is, of course, of concern to Ukrainians. Many are afraid that Western companies will take our resources away, so they are wary of entering the Ukrainian market. But there is another aspect: because of the war, our economy is in ruins, and it is only thanks to American and European aid that it is somehow functioning. So the only guarantee of our country's recovery is the appearance of Western companies here.
Photos: Andriy Kovalenko
