NEW YORK, October 30./TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in denial about the defeats suffered by the Ukrainian army, Time magazine reported referring to Zelensky’s entourage.
According to Simon Shuster, who wrote the article, despite the army’s setbacks, Zelensky’s "convictions haven’t changed." "Despite the recent setbacks on the battlefield, he does not intend to give up fighting or to sue for any kind of peace," he wrote.
"He deludes himself. We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that," Shuster quoted one of Zelensky’s closest aides as telling him.
"Zelensky’s stubbornness, some of his aides say, has hurt their team’s efforts to come up with a new strategy, a new message," the story went on to say.
The Ukrainian army has been making unsuccessful offensive attempts since June 4. On October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kiev had lost over 90,000 troops and more than 550 tanks in the past four months. On October 15, Putin said that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed completely, though Kiev was preparing new offensive operations at certain sections of the front.
The Russian side has repeatedly stated its position on the conflict in Ukraine at various levels. As Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted earlier, Moscow has always been and remains open to a diplomatic solution to the crisis and is ready to respond to really serious proposals, while the Kiev regime has stopped and banned negotiations with Russia.