Yelchenko: It is impossible to reach an agreement with the current Russian leadership
Any negotiations with Russia’s current leadership are unlikely to be productive. This view was expressed by Ukrainian diplomat Volodymyr Yelchenko, who emphasized that it is impossible to reach agreements with the current Russian authorities.
This view was expressed by Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and head of the international policy research department at the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation.
“I do not believe that any negotiations with the current Russian regime are realistic. It is absolutely impossible to reach an agreement with Russia’s current leadership. To be honest, I don’t even believe in negotiations with the next Russian regime,” Yelchenko noted, citing his experience as ambassador to Russia from 2010 to 2015.
According to the diplomat, in Russia, “almost all ministers, prime ministers, and deputy prime ministers belong to the same circle” of people, more or less close to Putin, and all of them are brainwashed by Russian propaganda, which they themselves produce. As of now, Yelchenko sees no one in the Russian establishment who would be capable of changing their mind.
The diplomat also does not have much faith in the possibility of rapid revolutionary changes in Russia that could actually bring new people to power.
At the same time, Yelchenko believes that Ukraine will not wait for Putin to step down or for the regime in Moscow to transform in any way. According to him, recent events confirm this.
“We are already capable of producing our own serious weapons. Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of our partners in the West... Some Ukrainian weapons are manufactured abroad by our producers. We must continue this trend,” the diplomat emphasized in an interview with Ukrinform.
On the night of July 19, Russian troops launched a ballistic strike on Kyiv. One person was killed and eight others were wounded as a result of the attack. Damage and fires were reported in five districts of the capital.
Throughout the day on July 17, Russian troops launched strikes on Kharkiv and 29 other settlements in the Kharkiv region. Two people were killed and 18 others were injured in the shelling; among the victims were five children.
Throughout the day on July 17, the Chernihiv region came under attack from enemy drones. Fires broke out in several districts at once, but Ukrainian rescue workers have already extinguished them.
