Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu that he effectively stopped separatism in the country by prohibiting anyone from negotiating on behalf of Ukraine with Russia.

On 4 October 2022, Zelenskyy enacted a National Security and Defense Council resolution from 30 September, which declared that Ukraine could not engage in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This decree was issued in response to Putin’s announcement of the annexation of parts of four Ukrainian oblasts—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—following sham referendums conducted under military coercion.

The Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, at the start of the all-out war, rapidly established numerous channels involving separatists and representatives of other states to undermine Ukraine’s independence and Zelenskyy’s leadership, the Ukrainian president explained.

“Why did I sign this decree? There were numerous negotiation processes and shadow political channels. I stopped them quickly.

I simply halted separatism in our country by prohibiting anyone, any representatives, or political figures in Ukraine from engaging in negotiations with the Russian side or Putin’s supporters during the war,” Zelenskyy stressed.

According to him, Putin’s supporters sought to exert pressure through various channels, including members of Ukraine’s parliament, European lawmakers, and even the US.

“There were many negotiation platforms. I realized that we and our respective agencies could not fully control them. Therefore, I made a completely just decision. I understand that Putin doesn’t like it because he had many channels.

Some are well-known because certain individuals were arrested and later exchanged for our soldiers. They also used other channels, even within some of our institutions, which I am not yet ready to discuss publicly,” Zelenskyy concluded.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president said that US military support for Ukraine was not halted. When asked whether the US suspension of international aid would affect Ukraine, Zelenskyy remarked: “I can only comment on what Ukraine might not receive and what I am personally focused on—military aid. It has not been stopped, thank God.”

The Ukrainian president added that he was not prepared to comment on other aspects of US aid restrictions to Ukraine.

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