Ukraine's Zelensky says all-out war with Russia is possible

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says an all-out war with neighboring Russia is a “possibility” as he complained about Kiev not being allowed to join the US-led NATO military alliance.

Asked at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) summit on Friday whether there could really be all-out war with Russia, he said, "I think there can be. It's the worst thing that could happen, but unfortunately there is that possibility."

The comments came amid Russian insistence that Ukraine is losing interest in peace talks after the recent announcement of further US military aid to Kiev.

Zelensky was also asked about a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to resolve problems between the two countries. "Honestly, I don't have time to think about him," he said.  

"I'm more interested in whether we can really meet substantively, not declaratively as he does with some states," he said. “It seems to me that today ... they do not see the sense in resolving issues. End the war and resolve conflict issues quickly - they don't want this."

Moscow denounced the latest US military aid to Ukraine last week, insisting that the move could make Kiev behave unpredictably and dangerously and "can only be a cause for regret."

"We believe this could potentially cause unpredictable actions by the Ukrainian side in terms of attempting to resolve the ... Ukrainian conflict ... by force. This is very dangerous," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, stressing that Washington-Kiev alliance was motivated by opposition to Moscow.

"To put it simply, we're talking about a Ukrainian-American friendship against Russia. That is to say, they're friends not for themselves, but against Russia. This ... can only be a cause for regret,” he added.

Zelensky said Friday that Kiev’s relations with Washington had improved, but complained that Ukraine had not yet received a clear answer to its request to join NATO -- a move that would surely enrage Moscow.

MG