‘Not clinging to power’: Ukrainian leader Zelensky says he’ll walk away from presidency if he fails to stop war in Donbass

Despite over a year of failing to stop hostilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that he will be able to end the war in Donbass, and says someone else should lead the country if he can’t.

Speaking to the BBC, Zelensky also claimed that he will be able to make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin and return Crimea to the control of Kiev.

“I believe in this. Otherwise, I would not have run for Ukrainian President,” Zelensky said. “This is very difficult, and we need the help of the whole world, that’s true. But I’m not losing faith.”

The Ukrainian president also sought to assure the BBC interviewer, Stephen Sackur, that he would not hang on to power, and is willing to walk away in case of failure.

“I always said – I’m not clinging to the ratings, nor am I clinging to power,” he said. “So, if I can’t stop the war, then there needs to be a different person who will be able to end this tragic story.”

Zelensky has been criticized by certain sectors of society for being too soft on Russia. Some believe he has been influenced by his long-time patron, oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who is perhaps the most powerful non-politician in the country. According to Kolomoisky, the war in Donbass is not a “Russian invasion” but an internal civil war, and he has encouraged the government to rebuild ties with their eastern neighbors.

The Ukrainian president was speaking to the BBC in London after a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Following the bilateral negotiations, the two countries signed a £1.25 billion ($1.61 billion) deal for the UK to build eight fast attack missile boats to improve the Ukrainian Navy, which had its capabilities dramatically reduced when the country lost Crimea.

Crimea was re-absorbed into Russia in March 2014, following a referendum. The vote is not recognized by most of the world, which views Crimea as an illegally occupied Ukrainian peninsula. Following the events of March 2014, sanctions were imposed against Russia. Ukraine also accuses Russia of military aggression in Donbass, in eastern Ukraine. The war in Donbass has been going on for over six years, and concluding it peacefully was a staple of Zelensky’s election manifesto. In late 2019, he helped arrange the first ‘Normandy Format’ of his presidency, the first movement towards a resolution after three years of stalled talks under his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko.

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