Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said it would be “suicidal” for Europe to offer the Kremlin concessions to halt its invasion of Ukraine, after Moscow demanded the West enter direct talks on ending the war.

Kyiv is scrambling to up the pressure on its allies for more support in its fight against Moscow following the victory of Donald Trump in this week’s US presidential election.

Trump has boasted he could end the conflict within hours and repeatedly criticised American aid to Kyiv.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded Ukraine cede swathes more territory in its east and south as a precondition to peace talks, while Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out ceding any land to Moscow in exchange for peace.

Ukraine and many in the West fear any settlement that rewards Putin would only embolden the Kremlin leader and lead to more aggression.

Speaking to European leaders at a summit in Hungary, Zelensky blasted those who were pressuring him to give in to some of Putin’s hardline demands.

“There has been much talk about the need to yield to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions,” Zelensky said, according to a copy of the address provided to AFP by the Ukrainian presidency.

“It’s unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all Europe,” he added.

He also blasted some European leaders, without specifying who, of “strongly” pushing Ukraine to compromise.

“We need sufficient weapons, not support in talks. Hugs with Putin won’t help. Some of you have been hugging him for 20 years, and things are only getting worse,” Zelensky said.

– ‘Choice’ –

Russia demanded earlier on Thursday that Kyiv’s allies enter into negotiations with Moscow if they want to halt the brutish attacks on Ukrainians.

The head of Russia’s Security Council Sergei Shoigu said the West faced a choice between opening direct talks with Moscow or the continuing “destruction” of Ukraine’s population.

“Now, when the situation in the theatre of combat is not in Kyiv’s favour, the West is faced with a choice,” Shoigu said at a meeting with defence officials of other former Soviet states.

“To continue financing (Kyiv) and the destruction of the Ukrainian population or recognise the current realities and start negotiating,” the former defence minister said.

They were among the first comments from a Russian official since Trump was confirmed to have been elected president of the United States.

Zelensky has previously said that without US aid, Ukraine would lose the war.

His outmanned and outgunned army is already on the backfoot in the eastern Donbas region, where Russian forces have been slowly advancing for months. 

Moscow on Thursday said its forces had wrested control of Kreminna Balka, a village that had a pre-war population of fewer than 50 people in the industrial Donetsk region where Ukrainian defences have been pushed back again and again.

Ukraine meanwhile faced another night of aerial bombardments across the country, including on the capital Kyiv, ahead of what could be the country’s toughest winter yet.

– Overnight attacks –

Ukrainian media reported that Donetsk region authorities were preparing to announce mandatory evacuations from seven more villages in the region that the Kremlin claimed in 2022 was part of Russia.

Moscow’s overnight drone attack on Ukraine damaged buildings in the southern Black Sea city of Odesa where AFP journalists saw residents inspecting destroyed cars and residential buildings as dawn broke.

And at least three people were killed in the aerial attacks overnight and into Thursday — one each in the Kherson, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to local officials.

The air force said it had shot down 74 Russian-deployed drones in 11 different regions, out of a total of 106 drones launched by Moscow at Ukraine. 

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