Zelenskyy says Novinskyi called him to surrender Ukraine: he calls it a lie and promises to make public «unpleasant moments» about the government

Vadym Novynskyi in Mykolaiv. Archival photo by NikVesti

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, oligarch Vadym Novynskyi called the President of Ukraine on behalf of Russian leader Vladimir Putin to urge him to surrender Ukraine.

This statement was made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press briefing on 13 May, when he commented on the decision to hold no talks with the Russian leadership.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the NSDC decision of 2022 did not concern him. It had to be made because at that time, various people were handing him ultimatums from Vladimir Putin.

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Among them, according to Zelenskyy, were Viktor Medvedchuk and Vadym Novynskyi.

«It started when Medvedchuk's and Novynskyi's people represented Putin's interests, speaking directly to me on the phone at the most difficult moment when we were under blockade. They talked about how Ukraine should be defined, how and where I should run, otherwise I would not be here, my family would not be here,» Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

In response, the politician called Zelenskyy's statement «a blatant lie» and said that he had not negotiated during the war because he did not have the appropriate mandate to do so.

At the same time, he noted that he had contact with certain structures in Russia, which he contacted at Zelenskyy's personal request to facilitate a meeting of the Ukrainian and Russian negotiating teams in Gomel.

«There was no offer of escape, surrender or other actions on my part — the subject of discussion was solely the negotiation framework preceding the meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations. I would like to remind Mr Zelenskyy of my words back then: «Mr President, you face two main tasks: you must save the lives of Ukrainians and preserve Ukrainian statehood». As the three years that have passed have shown, he has not fulfilled either the first or the second task,» Vadym Novynskyi wrote.

Vadym Novynskyi added that the «boorish» statement of the President forced him to reveal the details he witnessed in the first days of the war.

«Throughout this time, I did not want to mention many unpleasant moments associated with the country's top leadership in the first days of the war, but Mr Zelensky's statements force me to reveal certain details that do not do honour to him or many people around him. In the near future, I will decide how and when I will make public the data I have witnessed,» the politician added.

In addition, he plans to file a lawsuit against Zelenskyy to protect his honour and dignity.

As a reminder, the last meeting between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia took place at the end of March 2022.

On 11 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his desire to resume direct talks with Ukraine.