If Putin "devours" Ukraine, he will move on: Yashin disavows his words about negotiations

Russian oppositionist Ilya Yashin, who was released from a Russian colony as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and the West, has denied that Ukraine needs to sit down at the negotiating table with the aggressor country Russia. He called on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

Yashin said that his first interview after his release was not very successful. The Russian oppositionist said this in a conversation with Yuri Dud.

Dud asked Ilya Yashin why his position on the fate of the war in Ukraine was so contradictory – he called for negotiations in an interview after the exchange, and a day later he called on the West not to "surrender" Ukraine.

"If you allow Putin to devour Ukraine, he will go further. Have no illusions," Yashin said during the stream, which he posted just 24 hours after his first interview in freedom.

The Russian oppositionist explained that while giving a commentary to the Russian TV channel "Dozhd", he was "emotional" and therefore "did not formulate his thoughts very well."

"The interview with 'Dozhd' was not very successful, because I did not formulate my thoughts there very well. But it was not about negotiating the surrender of territories. That's not what I meant at all. Only Ukraine has to decide when and in what format negotiations should be held. I did not mean that Ukraine should exchange its territories for peace. I meant that sooner or later, some negotiations should start in a format that will be pleasant for the Ukrainian side," Yashin denied his words.

He said that he "fell out of context" during his 2 years of imprisonment and did not realize that the word "negotiations" was perceived as a Russian narrative. Yashin said that he has been saying all along, since 2014, and continues to do so, that Putin needs to withdraw his troops from the territory of Ukraine.

"I said it on my streams before the war (full-scale war – Ed.), I said it in my last speech at the trial. I am saying the same thing now," Yashin emphasized.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, immediately after the exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West, the released Russian opposition made several loud statements, including a proposal to the international community to ease sanctions against Russia. This was emphasized by an expert diplomat and head of the Center for Russian Studies, Volodymyr Ohryzko. However, according to him, the West is unlikely to heed such calls.

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