Ukraine’s first lady tells ABC News that giving up land is ‘like conceding a freedom’
Written by ABC Audio All Rights Reserved on June 2, 2022
(NEW YORK) — In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska spoke about the state of the ongoing conflict with Russia and where the Ukrainian people currently stand as a country.
In her first televised solo interview since the invasion began, Zelenska, 44, told “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts that conceding territory to Russia won’t stop the war.
“You just can’t concede…parts of your territory. It’s like conceding a freedom,” Zelenska said. “Even if we would consider territories, the aggressor would not stop at that. He would continue pressing, he would continue launching more and more steps forward, more and more attacks against our territory.”
The interview comes nearly 100 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, devastating towns and forcing the displacement of millions of Ukrainian residents.
After failing to capture the capital of Kyiv, the Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region.
This week, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will be sending Ukraine more sophisticated military equipment as part of a $700 million package of security assistance. The move follows calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month for long-range rocket systems to “allow the defeat of tyranny.”
The interview with Zelenska will air Thursday on “Good Morning America” and across ABC News. “GMA” airs at 7 a.m. on ABC.
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