Zelensky's adviser: Putin must end up as Milosevic, war ends with the release of Crime

Ahead of the compound's entry, the family of a war prisoner seeking to be expected by authorities protest. In the gardens, a bulldozer is digging a small hole. As of February 24th, the day of the Russian occupation lives in these chambers of the presidential palace built in the Soviet era, Mykailo Podolyak.

Podolyak, 50, once worked journalist in Belarus, and had friendship with dictator Lukashenko, today is President Zelensky's second most influential man in Ukraine and special envoy for negotiations (to date) with the Russians. At this stage of the war, you know what Ukraine's best possible negotiator is? Our army” tells me. I laugh... “No, no, I'm serious! The best mediator between Russia and Ukraine is our military force. Only our soldiers will know the Russians have lost the war. And Ukraine will give it the opportunity to dictate the only conditions for ending this war. So far there is no process for starting negotiations. And no plans for a Zelensky-Putt meeting. The Russians still believe they can win”-exxon.

But you have rejected all mediators, from Turkey to the Vatican...

Negotiations were blocked in Istanbul early April. Those days, in Bucha and Irpin, we saw very clearly what the Russians had done. There was no way back to the 2014 Minsk deal. There's actually no more compromises with Moscow.

When the war gets so wild, someone has to win it. Today we are no longer in 2014. Ukrainians are much better prepared for a modern war. And a loss of Russia, even at the psychological level, is far more important to Europe. If we were to negotiate again as in 2014, Moscow would think it has already won the war, and would increase its pressure by financing radical European right and left parties, its lobes in the European Parliament, companies, migration crises.

Therefore, each mediator begins with a false promise: He does not understand the nature of this war.

Do you think this war can end with a compromise: give us this region to keep the other one? This approach leads to wrong peace. The purpose of this war is to destroy Ukrainian identity.

So we have no choice: either we protect him or we lose him. All the others are false positions. Europe must understand that. Today, each meeting would be like playing Moscow's classic game: to restore the old status quo, to sign a farce pact like the 2014 Minsk Accords, and then to resume a new escalation of conflict. If we agreed to such a compromise, after a few years it would probably be Moldova's turn or someone else's, which would lead to chaos throughout Eastern Europe. Russia works on this scenario.

The Pope says we have to dialogue with the enemy, even though it's difficult...

In another statement, Francescu has said it is right to supply weapons to a country that is defending itself. I think it's important to understand where the war comes from. Even the Holy See must understand that there are those who wage war to conquer others, and those who are fighting for the right to exist, for their independence and freedom. Ukraine does not want to subdue any other people. She's also fighting for love.

Love?

Of course. We are protecting not only our land but the desire for the existence of our families, the free world. We also fight for our neighbors, since then it would be their turn. It's Russia that's waging war in a foreign territory. Russia is what conquers us. The pope must publish a document explaining that protection is a kind of sacred war.

Have you invited Pope to Kiev to say this?

We are negotiating that Francisco come to Kiev, and I believe that this visit will happen sooner or later. He himself wants to come to the country that is protecting the key values of Western civilization. But his visit clearly depends on many factors - including his health.

But he wants to go even to Moscow..

I don't think it's ethical to visit Moscow right now. They are the aggressors, those who are fighting in such a cruel way against the principles of life. It is not normal for the Holy Father to go to the place of murderers. And meet a man like Patriarch Kiril.

Why are you insisting so much on crime? A lot of people are already missing.

This is a typical effect that Russian wars in Europe have caused in the past. Some cases, such as the invasion of Crime in 2014, have not been discussed with fear. Now they're becoming the most important topic. We're beginning to realize that Crime is a territory that must be returned to Ukraine unconditionally.

It cannot be under Putin's control. Otherwise, it'll be a repeat story. There are too many mass graves in Crime. You were on Izyum yourself. The last few days' counteroffensive has been too fast, and the Russians had no time to hide their crimes. The Crimea, on the other hand, remains in their hands. So we have to get back there and all our territories as soon as possible. As long as the Russians have the feeling that they will remain unpunished, the massacres will never end.

But are you really preparing to sue Putin at The Hague? The only head of state who ended up in prison was Slobodan Milosevic, and he failed to serve his sentence...

That depends on community readiness. For a long time, Russia has been allowed to carry out major massacres in Georgia or Syria, having no consequences. Investigations must now be ordered, special courts established, sought and brought to justice. Local and international teams have already started working to identify who committed the crimes -- who had been collaborators -- they will be found and brought to justice.

Massive cemetery in Izyum tells us what kind of war Putin's doing here. In the case of Bucha and Irpin, many people thought they were massacres ordered only by any intermediate command. Meanwhile, those in Izyum show that genocide is taking place in Kherson, Zaporozja, Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donnetsk. It is necessary to investigate all who have given orders. It's not only Putin who has to face Miloevic's fate, but his entire inner circle”.

If negotiations were to resume tomorrow, what would Ukraine require?

First, return to the 1991 border. Second, demilitarisation of the Russian border generation with Ukraine. Third, Russia begins to pay the damages of war for every family in Ukraine because they have all suffered greatly from this attack. Fourth, an international court, where Russia after Putin's collapse plays a role in the extradition of criminals. / AbcNews.al/