Ukraine’s security official explains why Kremlin signals readiness for talks

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, says settlement negotiations with Russia are impossible, as the only condition the enemy would offer is for Ukraine to surrender.

That’s according to Danilov’s interview with the Voice of America, Ukrinform reports.

"Putin is not ready for any negotiations. Putin or his entourage make these statements to weaken support for our country. They launch these fake stories claiming they are allegedly ready for negotiations," Danilov said.

He recalled Ukraine's clear position on the issue, namely the 10 points of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula.

"The negotiations proposed by Russia are quite simple – it’s our capitulation. We cannot afford to surrender to a country that has been destroying us since February 24. And we will keep fighting to victory," said the NSDC secretary.

"When some say we’re seeing no results on the battlefield, this is not entirely true. Every day, we destroy a huge number of Russian soldiers and weapons on our country’s soil," said the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Also, Danilov commented on reports about a 30% drop in the supply to Ukraine of 155-mm artillery rounds by Western countries, saying that "the situation may differ." According to him, next year's supply of munitions "will not be worse than this year’s."

"It will be a challenging, difficult year. A year of major decision-making, first of all at the frontlines. I would very much like this to be the year of our victory, our joint victory with our partners over the enemy," Danilov concluded.

As reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said at a press conference on December 19 that the issue of negotiations with Russia was off the table at the moment.