The former President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, called the Volodymyr Zelensky to stop the “bloodshed,” “at any cost.”.
«I understand very well that you have many “advisers,” but personally, you are obligated to stop the bloodshed at all costs and reach a peace agreement,» said the former president and his “favorite” Putin for the country's future, according to RIA Novosti. «This is something I expect from you regarding Ukraine, the Donbas, and Russia», he said in a statement.
Yanukovych added that the Ukrainian people and «Kyiv’s partners in the West» would be grateful for such a move.
«I would like to appeal to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, drawing on my experience as President but also speaking as a father. You may dream of becoming a hero. But heroism is not about showing off; it is not about fighting until the last Ukrainian dies. »Heroism lies in self-sacrifice, in overcoming personal pride and ambition for the sake of saving people’s lives,” Yanukovych said emphatically.
He noted that he is watching the events in Ukraine «with pain» and «deeply sympathizes with the suffering the Ukrainians are forced to endure.» At the same time, he emphasized that «in every tragedy, there is a moment when it can still be stopped.».
«From your very first day, you promised to end the war in Ukraine, and that’s why all of Ukraine supported you. You could have united the whole world, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen,’ he concluded.
The timing of Yanukovych’s statement at this particular moment may be related to the fact that a full-scale attack on Kyiv and Odessa is being prepared in the coming hours, combined with the fact that “is being groomed” by Moscow as the successor to power.
It should be recalled that a decision by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is close to the Kremlin, to reject an association agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Moscow, sparked massive protests that led to his ouster in 2014. Russia responded by annexing the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and by supporting separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian media, citing information from intelligence agencies, report that the Kremlin wants to reinstate former President Viktor Yanukovych—who was ousted in 2014 — who is currently in Minsk — in place of Zelenskyy. Yanukovych, however, was found guilty of treason in 2019 by his country’s supreme court. In recent years, he has been living in Rostov of Russia.
So far, three rounds of negotiations have taken place between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations on the Belarusian border, on February 28 and then on March 3 and 7. During the most recent meetings, the two sides demonstrated a mutual understanding regarding the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians. According to sources in the Russian Duma, the fourth round «will begin soon.».
