Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed today, Monday, that a ceasefire agreement will be reached in the Donbas region, stressing that he will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at a time to be announced later.
In a speech he gave on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Zelensky said that his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would apparently take place, adding that he had assigned his office to coordinate the date and place of this meeting.
The Ukrainian president said that all parties are very close to reaching a ceasefire agreement in Donbas.
Zelensky added that his country does not want the conflict zone in Donbas to turn into another prohibited area, such as the radiation-contaminated land in Chernobyl. "We can certainly do everything today to prevent a future tragedy that might happen in occupied Donbas," he added.
Last Friday, Russia announced the withdrawal of its forces mobilized in the Crimea peninsula after the end of training there, which appeared to be an announcement to stop the mobilization of tens of thousands of soldiers, which caused concern to Ukraine and the West.
On Friday, the Kremlin announced a proposal to hold a meeting of the Normandy group with the aim of discussing the armistice in the Donbas, with the participation of officials from Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
It is noteworthy that the Russian-Ukrainian relations have been witnessing an escalating tension for about 7 years, after Moscow illegally annexed the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula to its territory, and its support for separatists in the Donbas region, eastern Ukraine.