Any kind of Russian victory can be dangerous: Volodymyr Zelenskyyy

Kiev: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyyy has warned that if his country does not win the battle in the key eastern city, Russia may start rallying international support for a settlement that could lead to unacceptable compromises to Ukraine. He also invited the leader of China, a longtime ally of Russia, to visit. Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press (AP) that if Bakhmut is captured by Russian forces, its President Vladimir Putin “will brag about this victory to the West, to his society, to China and Iran.”
Zelenskyy said in an interview given online, “If he senses at all that we are weakening, he will suppress us.” Russia has surprised the world by giving a befitting reply to the huge armed Russian army. Ukraine’s military continues to hold the country’s capital, Kiev, and has also forced Russia to retreat from other strategically important areas.
Zelenskyy is well aware that international military aid, especially from the US and Western European countries, has a hand in his country’s success. However, some leaders, including former US President Donald Trump and a candidate for the 2024 election, have questioned whether the US should continue to supply Ukraine with billions of dollars in military aid. Zelenskyy, without naming Donald Trump or any other leader of the Republican Party, said that if the Republican Party wins the 2024 election in the US, he is worried that the change of power in the country could affect the war.
“The US really understands that if they stop helping us, we will not win,” he said. Some Western military experts have suggested that Bakhmut is not strategically important. But Zelenskyy has warned that if the war is lost anywhere at this point, it could put Ukraine at risk. He said, “We cannot retrace our steps as small victories in this war can take us forward. Small victories, small steps. ”He feared that if there is a defeat in Bakhmut, there will be an immediate reaction to it both from the international community and at the domestic level.
He said, “Our society will feel tired. Our society will pressure me to compromise with them.” Zelenskyy said, though he has not felt any such pressure so far. Since the invasion of Russia on February 24, 2022, leaders of many countries have visited Ukraine. In an interview with the AP, Zelenskyy also invited the strategically important Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine. They said, “We want to see him here.” They said, “I want to talk to him.” I talked to him before this war. But I haven’t spoken to him for a year or more.” China has been leaning towards Russia economically and politically for decades and has provided political security to Putin by adopting a neutral stance in the war.