President Pavel: Temporary Russian occupation may be price for Ukraine’s survival

Temporary Russian occupation of parts of Ukrainian territory may be the price Ukraine will have to pay to survive as a sovereign state, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the BBC. He emphasized that such territories would never be legally recognized as part of the Russian Federation. Mr. Pavel argued that, even with Western support, Ukraine is currently not in a position to liberate the occupied regions of the country without incurring heavy human losses. He warned that it would be unfair for the West to pressure Kyiv into such action.

The Czech head of state stressed that the survival of the Ukrainian nation must take precedence. While military aid to Ukraine should continue, he said, the war cannot be won on the battlefield alone. Pavel argued that economic pressure from Europe and the United States would be a more powerful lever to force Moscow to negotiate.