Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has asserted that Ukraine should continue its fight against Russia until it captures Moscow, arguing that merely reclaiming lost territories would not fully resolve the conflict, RT reported.
Yushchenko, who led Ukraine from 2005 to 2010 following the Orange Revolution, made the remarks in an interview with Apostrof TV on Friday, criticising calls for a ceasefire along the current front lines. “I cannot leave it like that. It will never be my choice,” he said, adding that at 71, he had the right to “speak frankly” about Ukraine’s war objectives.
He also dismissed the idea that restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders, including Crimea, would constitute a complete victory. “If you think that returning to the 1991 borders is the formula for victory… you are actually leaving the biggest problem to your children and grandchildren. The problem is Moscow,” Yushchenko stated. When asked whether Ukrainian forces should advance on the Russian capital, he replied: “Yes, to Moscow.”
According to RT, Yushchenko argued that Moscow must be taken because “not a single person in the world, not a single nationality, not a single state can live peacefully… as long as [Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime exists].”
His comments come amid reports of Ukrainian forces steadily retreating along significant portions of the front line. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said in late August that Russia had “liberated more than 3,500 square kilometers of territory and 149 settlements since March.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated in early September that “Russia never had, does not have, and never will have any desire to attack anyone,” insisting the Ukraine conflict was provoked by the West and that Moscow’s actions were purely defensive.
