Vladimir Putin “is very dangerous, for everyone. For him, human life is worth nothing. I think he’s crazy, I really do. He loves to kill“. This was said by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at a press conference in Brussels on the sidelines of the European Council. For Zelensky, Putin is “an old man lost in his fantasies. He lives in his aquarium,” he says.
“I want Trump on our side”
“I want Donald Trump to help us end this war“, chants Zelensky. “I think he is a strong man and I want him on my side. I would like to discuss with him in more detail – he continues – I think it is very important”, given that “he was not in this war, because he was not president” when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. “It is understandable. I hope he will understand me, because”, regardless of everyone’s past, “businessman, politician… we are simply people and we have the same emotions”.
“No to the Christmas truce”
Zelensky then rejects the possibility of a Christmas truce with Russia mooted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “I think it is not very serious when we talk about various initiatives related to the life of Ukrainians and find out about them from the mass media. With all due respect to the Hungarian people, the Prime Minister he has no personal mandate to organize the negotiationsand his relations with Putin are a little too cordial” to be able to “put him in his place”.
“We must preserve the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” Zelensky continues, explaining that Ukrainian soldiers are also protecting Europe with their lives, which is why the circumstances of Orban’s proposal seem to him “a PR operation politics”. The same skepticism applies to the hostage exchange, he continues: “I really don’t understand what Christmas exchange we’re talking about. It is a very important challenge to organize the return of our people. I’m not in the mood for holidays.”
The problem with such a ceasefire, he continues, is that risks simply freezing the conflict and not providing clarity on what will happen next. “This is why Ukraine needs security guarantees. Of course we want to end the war, we want a stable peace, but it goes without saying that Russia is not interested in this,” explains the Ukrainian president, underlining the importance of not discussing any plans regarding Ukraine without its participation.
“We need at least 19 air defense systems”
“Russia is targeting our nuclear power generation – Zelensky then reports -. Over 22 stations are involved in generation, we need 19 additional systems to protect the grid, otherwise we will be left without 4-5 GW of energy next winter, as Russia knows well.” This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking at a press conference on the occasion of the European Council meeting.
Zelensky explains that there are encouraging signs regarding the delivery of some air defense systems. “There is some movement, some confirmation, we will start receiving them from Canada and Germany. But they are not enough, we need at least 19, and also Patriot systems to protect our cities.”
“We will not prolong the transit of Russian gas”
“We will not prolong the transit of Russian gas and we will not allow further billions to be earned on the blood of our people,” says the Ukrainian president, warning that nations that buy cheap gas from Russia “sooner or later will become dependent on it.” The Russian gas transit agreement to Europe via Ukraine expires on December 31, 2024.
The same applies to gas of Russian origin but technically purchased from Azerbaijan. “We will only transit the gas if it does not come from Russia”, if it does not allow the Kremlin to continue financing the war of aggression in Ukraine, specifies Zelensky, before a partial opening: if a purchasing country is ready to receive the gas but don’t pay Russia until the war is over, “we can think about it”.
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