Ukraine's biggest mistake is not building strong security position: President

ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday his country's biggest mistake in the past 30 years was not building a strong security position.

In an interview to Czech television, Zelenskyy said: "For the past 30 years, I believe we have not built a strong security position. And we did not expect Russia to take such aggressive steps, war steps, and bloody steps. This, I think, is the biggest mistake of our policy."

“One war in this century for Ukraine is enough,” he added.

On possible negotiations with Russia to end the war, he said: "We have already been there. There is nothing new, no surprises. I know the end of this story.”

Zelenskyy accused Russia of lying about wanting to find a solution to the conflict through diplomacy.

“Yesterday they (Russia) told us that they wanted to stop the war, but today they attacked us with 54 missiles… What can we talk about with them if they attack us with 54 missiles in half a day?” he said.

Russia can propose solutions to the conflict after it retreats from Ukrainian territories, including Crimea, he said.

The interview comes days after Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala met various Ukrainian officials, including Zelenskyy, in Kyiv in the wake of fresh Russian missile attacks across Ukrainian cities.

Moscow launched a war in Ukraine in February, which besides several thousand casualties and displacements, has led to an energy crisis and affected the global economy.