Zelenskyy Says International Partners Ready To Support Kiev With Sanctions Against Russia

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2021) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that international partners were ready to support Ukraine in resisting "Russian aggression" financially and with tougher sanctions.

"We are not afraid [of Russia], because we also have strong support from international partners. I spoke with the leaders of the United States of America, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Turkey, with the President of the Council of Europe and the NATO Secretary General. They, just like other partners, are on our side. They perfectly see the true motives of Russia. They are ready to support us financially. We are ready to introduce more and more tough sanctions and adopt tough resolutions. This is right, necessary, and Ukraine is sincerely grateful for all this," Zelenskyy said in his video message.

At the same time, Ukrainian citizens need to understand the specific steps that international partners are ready to take, he noted.

"Our citizens really need to understand what else the world is ready for. How and by whom exactly will you help us if someone again ignores the borders in the center of Europe? Do you understand that Ukraine, and with it the whole world, that believes in strength and the steadfastness of international law, may need much, much more than diplomatic concern. All of us may need decisiveness. Is the world ready to tackle difficult tasks? In the event of a large-scale aggression from the Russian Federation, will it stop hiding from unpleasant questions, in particular regarding the UN Security Council, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Nord Stream 2?" Zelenskyy added.

Zelenskyy also addressed Russia in Russian and said that in the event of a war between Ukraine and Russia, it will be about millions of lives, and added that it is impossible to bring peace in a tank.

"Separately, I want to address our northern neighbor. Once, the President of the Russian Federation said: if a fight is inevitable, you need to hit first. But, in my opinion, today every leader must understand that a fight cannot be inevitable when it is not about a gateway and hooligans, but about a real war and millions of human lives. And that, unlike a fight, all sides lose in a war. And that it is impossible to protect someone by attacking. And that it is impossible to free someone by capturing. And that it is impossible to bring peace in a tank. To people who do not understand from whom they want to be protected and liberated and why they can be fired upon and bombed for, including our surviving old people who liberated this land from the Nazis and do not understand why their peaceful life after 75 years was again under the threat of war," the Ukrainian president said.

He stressed that Ukraine and Russia, despite their common past, "look to the future in different ways."

"We are we. You are you. But this is not necessarily a problem, this is an opportunity. At least it is an opportunity, before it is too late, to stop the deadly mathematics of future military losses. Yesterday and today, at the meetings of the Normandy Four and the subgroup on security, the TCG discussed the restoration of a complete ceasefire, but, despite the support of all parties, Russia refused to support the general statement," the president said.