section_path: Presidency/Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)/Phase 2: South-Eastern front 2022, 8 April – 5 September
section_name: Phase 2: South-Eastern front 2022, 8 April – 5 September
paragraph_text: Phase 2: South-Eastern front 2022, 8 April – 5 September
  
  In April 2022, Zelenskyy criticized Germany's ties with Russia. In May 2022, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian men of conscription age had a duty to remain in Ukraine. As Zelenskyy ordered a general military mobilization in February 2022, he also banned men aged 18 to 60 from leaving Ukraine.
  
  Zelenskyy denounced suggestions by former US diplomat Henry Kissinger that Ukraine should cede control of Crimea and Donbas to Russia in exchange for peace. On 25 May 2022, he said that Ukraine would not agree to peace until Russia agreed to return Crimea and the Donbas region to Ukraine. However, he later said he did not believe that all the land seized by Russia since 2014, which includes Crimea, could be recaptured by force, saying that "If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people." On 3 May 2022, Zelenskyy accused Turkey of having "double standards" by welcoming Russian tourists while attempting to act as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine to end the war. On 25 May 2022, Zelenskyy said that he was satisfied with China 's policy of staying away from the conflict. In August 2022, he said China had the economic leverage to pressure Putin to end the war, adding,
  
  I'm sure that without the Chinese market for the Russian Federation, Russia would be feeling complete economic isolation. That's something that China can do – to limit the trade until the war is over.
  
  According to Zelenskyy, since the beginning of the invasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping had refused to speak with him.
  
  On 30 May 2022, Zelenskyy criticized EU leaders for being too soft on Russia and asked, "Why can Russia still earn almost a billion euros a day by selling energy?" The study published by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) calculates that the EU paid Russia about €56 billion for fossil fuel deliveries in the three months following the start of Russia's invasion.
  
  On 20 June 2022, Zelenskyy addressed African Union (AU) representatives via videoconference. He invited African leaders to a virtual meeting, but only four of them attended. On 20 July 2022, South America's Mercosur trade bloc refused Zelenskyy's request to speak at the trade bloc's summit in Paraguay.