Volodymyr Zelensky made the declaration in an interview with the British broadcaster BBC on Thursday night.
Ukraine’s leader warned that land concessions would mean Russia could keep “coming back,” while Western arms would bring peace closer.
Zelensky stated: “Any territorial compromises would make us weaker as a state."
It is “not about compromise itself," he said. "Why would we be afraid of that? We have millions of compromises in life every day.”
The Ukrainian president added: "The question is with whom? With Putin? No. Because there's no trust. Dialogue with him? No. Because there's no trust."
Russia kills five civilians in attack on Bakhmut residential district
Meanwhile, Russian Grad rockets and barrel artillery struck a residential district in the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on Thursday, killing five civilians and injuring nine more, the Reuters news agency reported.
Three men and two women were killed, Ukraine’s prosecutor general said, adding that the attack was being investigated as a war crime, according to Reuters.
The office of the Ukrainian prosecutor-general shared blurred images of the victims on the Telegram social messaging app, together with a caption: "Five dead and nine wounded due to shelling of Bakhmut by the invaders. Criminal proceedings have been initiated."
An investigation had established that Russia fired barrel artillery and Grad rockets at Bakhmut on February 16, the office said, adding: "The occupiers' shells once again hit the city's residential quarter."
Russia launches missiles at Ukraine, damaging critical infrastructure in Lviv region
Russia fired 36 air- and sea-based cruise missiles, guided air-to-surface missiles and anti-ship missiles against Ukraine overnight into Thursday, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported, citing Ukrainian officials.
At least 16 missiles were downed by the Ukrainian air defences, the country’s air force said.
Among these, Ukrainian forces shot down eight Kalibr missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea, according to officials.
Russia’s overnight bombardment did not significantly affect Ukraine’s power supply, officials also said.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko announced that electricity generation in the country was “sufficient to meet the needs of consumers” for the fifth successive day.
The national power grid operator, Ukrenergo, assessed there was no need to introduce emergency power blackouts to conserve supplies, The Guardian reported.
Critical infrastructure hit in Lviv region
Meanwhile, Russian strikes damaged critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s western Lviv region, according to news reports.
The head of the Lviv region's military administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, told reporters on Thursday, as quoted by the US broadcaster CNN: “Unfortunately, overnight the enemy launched a missile attack on our region. Three missiles hit a critical infrastructure facility."
"The only thing I can clarify is that this is not a facility that is crucial for the electricity supply in Lviv region," he stated, adding there were “no casualties or injuries.”
Friday is day 359 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, BBC, Reuters, Ukrinform, The Guardian, kmu.gov.ua, CNN