Ukraine needs help as Russian offensive looming – Zelenskyy
3 min read
Russia is expected to launch another major offensive at the end of May or in June, Ukraine needs help now to stabilize the situation, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with CBS published on Thursday.
"And before that, we not only need to prepare, we not only need to stabilize the situation, because the partners are sometimes really happy that we have stabilized the situation," he said.
The interview with Zelenskyy was recorded in Sumy region which is being under constant artillery fire of the enemy.
"Usually, when they attack by artillery and destroy the villages, after that, they always tried to occupy," he said.
The president said Russia's attempts to accuse Ukraine of preparing the terrorist act in Moscow were "ridiculous."
"He doesn't care whether it's a terrorist act, an economic act, the oil industry or any of these spheres," Zelenskyy said, accusing the Russian leader of "using that to unite his society as much as possible — even what has taken place in Moscow, with so many casualties and wounded people, he's using all of that just for the one objective to justify that Ukraine does not exist."
"For him, we are a satellite of Russian Federation. At the moment, it's us, then Kazakhstan, then Baltic states, then Poland, then Germany. At least half of Germany," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy said Putin was determined to restore the former Soviet Union to its imperial glory — and its geographical borders.
"Even tomorrow, the missiles can fly to any state," he said.
"This aggression, and Putin's army, can come to Europe, and then the citizens of the United States, the soldiers of the United States, will have to protect Europe because they're the NATO members," Zelenskyy said.
Calling Russia's invasion of his country a war "against the democracy, against the values, against the whole world," he said there may be some in the West who were tired of hearing the message, "but only those are tired who are not at war, who don't know what war is, and who have never lost his or her children."
"But it can come to Europe, and to the United States of America. It can come very quickly to Europe. The 80s and then the end of the 90s – he will never forgive that," Zelenskyy said, suggesting Putin bears a lingering grudge over the collapse of the pre-Cold War world.
"He believes in that. We don't need to change his opinion. We need to change him. We need to replace him," the Ukrainian president said.
