Ukraine is doing everything in its might to protect itself from Russian aggression, but it needs the support of the West. So stated fifth President and leader of the “European Solidarity” party Petro Poroshenko in an interview with the French newspaper “Le Figaro.”
“We are fighting for our country, but we need a united Western front to support Ukraine. We need international sanctions- starting with an embargo against Russian gas and oil, the freezing of Russian assets, and the disconnection of Russia from the SWIFT payment system,” Poroshenko said.
“We need help to strengthen our security and defence systems through greater cooperation with NATO and to acquire new lethal defensive weapons. Putin should have no illusions about the severity of the price he will pay if he continues his aggression,” Poroshenko stressed.
According to him, the West should also seek to hinder the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
“Otherwise, this would be an invitation for Putin to continue his aggression against our country. What is occurring in Donbas is not a frozen conflict. Since the beginning of the year, Russian forces have killed 43 Ukrainian soldiers,” the fifth President stated.
“Secondly, the war must end. There is only one viable tool for this: the deployment of a mission of ‘blue helmets’ under the mandate of the UN Security Council throughout the occupied territories,” Poroshenko reminded.
“President Zelensky’s biggest mistake is to think that he can make peace with Putin. The Russian president does not want peace with Ukraine. In the last two years, he has issued 200,000 Russian passports to the population of the occupied Donbas, because he wants to have a reason to protect Russian citizens in our territory. This is completely illegal. This is a creeping occupation of the Donbas,” the European Solidarity leader said.