Next 24 hours will be crucial for Ukraine – Zelenskyy

During a conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the next 24 hours would be crucial for Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion.

The press service of the head of the British government said that Johnson called the resistance of the Ukrainian people heroic and promised "defense assistance from Britain and its allies."

On February 27, the Office of the President of Ukraine announced that Belarusian dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed to meet with a Russian delegation from Russia on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border near the Pripyat River. It will take place without preconditions.

"Aleksandr Lukashenko has taken responsibility for the fact that all planes, helicopters, and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory will remain on the ground during the trip, negotiations, and return of the Ukrainian delegation," the statement said.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that it didn't confirm the information about the talks with Russia in Gomel, Belarus. On Sunday, February 27, a Russian delegation arrived there for alleged talks with the Ukrainian one.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to meet in Belarus because of Minsk's participation in a full-scale war against Ukraine. Kyiv has already offered Russia talks in Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku and any other city to end the war and restore peace, he said.

The Office of the President of Ukraine stated that Russia was manipulating the issue of the negotiation process and trying to put Ukraine in unacceptable ultimatum conditions, as well as "humiliating Belarus by using it." Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Security Council, also denied the Kremlin's claim that Kyiv had refused to negotiate. According to him, Moscow is trying to bring the talks to a standstill before they begin.

It was also repeatedly stressed that Zelenskyy "does not accept any unacceptable conditions and ultimatums for Ukraine," only full-fledged negotiations.