Ukrainian peace negotiator and adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Kiev will not stop its counteroffensive even if Russian-occupied territories hold a referendum.
Podolyak told CNN that Ukrainian troops will continue to launch attacks against Russia in order to retake the occupied areas, deeming the proposed popular vote "absolutely meaningless."
"The actions of our army are exclusively defensive in nature, they are legal and legitimate. International law is unambiguous and undeniable: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson and Crimea are the territory of Ukraine," Podolyak was quoted as saying.
