The big question on many people’s minds right now is how will this war end? Eastern Donbass is now home to the biggest battle in Europe for generations. With Lugansk falling under Russian control in recent days, there is a sense of skepticism about Ukraine’s defiant appeals that it will somehow regain this lost ground in the region. Kremlin could ‘force businesses to supply military’ – Ukraine Live Updates I asked Mr Klitschko if there was pressure from international partners to make a deal with Russia – to give Moscow the industrialized Donbas in exchange for peace in Ukraine? “Sometimes I get sad if I hear these messages from our partners. It’s the same message that says to the Russian Federation, ‘OK, we’re ready to find a compromise, let’s find a solution.’ He added: “What compromise? Giving up part of our territory is a compromise? For us, for the Ukrainians, it is not.” I asked if this would represent treason and his answer was clear. “We feel betrayed.” Mr Klitschko said that can’t be an option because Russia won’t stop at that – they want the whole of Ukraine, he tells me. Read more: Why is Russia attacking Ukraine’s railways and failing? Is Russia now winning the war in Ukraine? The experts have their say The advantage Ukrainian forces have over the Russian military is motivation. “ “They are fighting for money. We are fighting for our children,” he said. Many will know Mr Klitschko as the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world. If this war was a boxing match, what round are we in? Subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker It wouldn’t be written on a timeline, but he said that “sport has rules” and “even war has rules,” but Russia doesn’t play by any rulebook. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this. Civilians who have escaped from Mariupol have told me this before – that’s what makes this war so terrifying for ordinary people here. Not surprisingly, the continued call for more artillery was heard. “Right now I’m talking to our military, to our soldiers, and they’re all saying exactly the same thing: we need more weapons, right now, it’s not enough,” he said. The overriding message? We need more help – and don’t betray us.
