Zelensky: Gaining several thousand kilometers at cost of a million lives is no victory

He made this statement in an interview with ABC News, Ukrinform reports.

"That's not a victory when you lose a million people just to gain a few thousand kilometers," Zelensky said.

At the same time, he acknowledged that Russia could succeed if Ukraine's Western partners were to abandon their support.

"Of course, if the U.S. and Europe stop their support and pull out of the situation, then yes, they [the Russians] could win. But let me remind you — even without our partners, they [the Russians] struggled to occupy our country at the very beginning of the war. Under current circumstances, Putin cannot win this war if the world remains united and stands with us. That makes his victory impossible," Zelensky said.

He stressed the importance of applying further pressure on Russia's oil sector.

"His [Putin's] economy depends on oil, on energy. We must impose sanctions as soon as possible. We've lost too much time. We could have introduced energy restrictions and capped oil prices at $30 — no higher. We lost three years. We gave them that money. They sold vast quantities of energy to China, India, Brazil, and others," Zelensky said.

On December 5, 2022, EU oil sanctions against Russia took effect, including a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil and petroleum products.

In response, Moscow assembled a "shadow fleet" of aging and often uninsured tankers to bypass the sanctions and price caps imposed by the EU and its allies. Russian oil continues to flow to global markets, prompting European capitals to target Moscow's energy revenues in an effort to pressure Putin to end the war in Ukraine.