Mykhailo Podolyak in an interview with El País

Europe will be able to return to peaceful life only after the Russian troops are expelled from the territory of Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said this in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País.

He noted that today there are no negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation regarding the end of the war, as it is currently impossible to find common ground.

"It is extremely important for Russia to gain a foothold in the newly captured territories. It is not possible for Ukraine to conduct negotiations under such conditions. If negotiations are held today, Russia will want to unite the occupied territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which means that Russia's appetites will increase, and after some time we will have a continuation of the war," Mykhailo Podolyak explained.

According to the Advisor to the Head of the President's Office, under such developments Russia will behave much more aggressively on the European continent, creating complete chaos.

"If Europe wants to restore pre-war Ukraine, it is necessary to expel (occupation troops - ed.) from our territory to Russia and transform the political system of the Russian Federation, which is currently aggressive. Only then will Europe be able to return to a peaceful life," Mykhailo Podolyak is convinced.

The Advisor to the Head of the President's Office noted that one of the first prerequisites for returning to the negotiation process is the withdrawal of Russian troops to the positions that existed before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

At the same time, according to him, after the crimes committed by the occupiers in the Kyiv region, the south and the east of our country, the conditions have changed.

"First - a tactical defeat of Russia, then - restoration of the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine, that is, the borders of 1991. If even a point of conflict remains with Russia, it will be an unfinished war. If Russia does not lose, it will continue to provoke Europe in such enclaves as Transnistria, Georgia or Northern Kazakhstan," Mykhailo Podolyak said.

The Advisor to the Head of the President's Office noted that European countries help Ukraine a lot, but at the same time, there is bureaucracy and a certain conservatism that we had to face, as well as difficulties in the issue of weapons supply.

"If Europe wants to speed up the end of the war, it is necessary to understand its mathematics. There is no parity in armaments yet, as Russia has accumulated MLRS and artillery. The sooner we can expel Russia from our territory, the sooner we can talk about the end of the war. If we want to speed up the end of the war and the defeat of Russia, we need weapons; if we want to minimize casualties, we need heavy weapons," he explained.

Mykhailo Podolyak emphasized that Ukraine will fight to the end in this war, because it is a question of the survival of our state.

"For Europe, there should be only one right ending - maximum aid to Ukraine, which is fighting against the Russian Empire. Russia must lose, only then will there be stable peace, peaceful life and fewer criminal activities by Nazi and far-right groups financed by Russia in Europe," he summarized.