Zelenskyy says Putin will not end Ukraine war until ‘we end him’

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not end the ongoing war between their countries until “we end him.”

“If we do not withstand this, we have recently heard about Finland, about the independence of Uzbekistan, and so on. He (Putin) will not end it all until we all end him together,” Zelenskyy told a press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in the capital Vilnius.

Arguing the Russian president will not be satisfied until he “destroys Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said he knows who would be at risk if Kyiv is defeated.

“Is it pleasant to hear? Probably not. Because this is a challenge, and war is a terrible tragedy with nothing positive in it,” Zelenskyy said, suggesting Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Moldova could be next.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine, where Russia launched a "special military operation" in February 2022, is under no pressure from its partners to stop its defense.

"There are different voices. I heard, read, and know in the media. There are different voices, and there are different discussions. I think that partners are not yet officially ready to give us corresponding signals. At least, I haven't personally heard them," Zelenskyy said.

Nauseda said Lithuania will continue to support Ukraine through all means -- military, political, and economic.

“At the State Defence Council, we have approved a 200-million-euro package of long-term military assistance to Ukraine,” he said.

“We will send ammunition, generators and detonation systems to Ukraine in January, and M577 armored personnel carriers in February. We will also train Ukrainian soldiers,” Nauseda added.

The Ukrainian leader arrived in Lithuania on an unannounced regional visit earlier in the day, and is expected to travel to Estonia and Latvia.

Questions loom over the future of the conflict, which is approaching its third year, amid allegedly slower-than-expected progress of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and the West’s disagreements over further funds to Kyiv.