The president of the war-torn Ukraine V. Zelensky gave an exclusive interview to ERT and Giannis Souliotis, where, among other things, he spoke about Greece and the Greeks, but also about the contradictions in the support that his country receives.
He spoke of a war that threatens peace not only in Eastern Europe but around the world. For the first time, he was also asked to respond to the video that was shown in the Greek Parliament and explained his position on the Azov Order, emphasizing that today he is part of the armed forces of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that Russia had violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and sought full invasion of the country after Crimea, stressing that “the war will end when Ukraine wins.”
Among other things, he stressed that “On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale attack, a full-scale war, a full-scale occupation by Russia on the territory of Ukraine. That was the reason for the severe sanctions: killings, occupation, illegal invasion.
The war is not over yet, we have not returned to our territories, unfortunately Russia is still on our soil, it continues to exert pressure. “Nothing is over,” he said.
He noted that the civilians at the Azofstal steel plant in Mariupol “are afraid to go out because they are being killed”, while he stressed that the secretary general UN assured him that the civilians of Mariupol would reach Ukrainian territory.
He said: “We are continuing and proposing the evacuation of our people. There are several routes. One is the one proposed by the UN. Unfortunately, this evacuation does not concern soldiers and wounded.
They do not take such responsibility. The UN is only talking about aid for the evacuation of civilians. When Russia did not stop us, we already got a lot of people out of Mariupol. Now we are talking about civilians in Azofstal, they are there – the people who are afraid to leave because they are being killed.
Now we are talking and dealing with this path. Today everything depends on the Russian side. As you can see, even the UN is involved. Nevertheless, this process remains difficult.
Why; Because we do not trust the Russian Federation, because that trust is diminishing. This continued even when Mr Guterres was here discussing the humanitarian mission to evacuate civilians.
He came from the Russian Federation to confirm it. But even at that moment 5 missiles hit the Kiev Prefecture. We work in this climate. We do not forget anyone and we will not forget. And if in the next few days we have some possibility, we will definitely do it “.
Referring to the damage caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he stressed that the cost of damage to damaged houses and infrastructure exceeds $ 60 billion and characteristically said:
“The losses – today we can only talk about the number of damaged houses and infrastructure, which is already estimated at around $ 60 billion. This is for today, without the occupied territories, where we can not analyze anything. From the lands where the sovereignty of Ukraine what is clear – the number of damaged bridges, roads, infrastructure, factories, etc.
The state lost $ 600 billion. I am not talking about private companies, because it will be calculated after the end of the war. Today we need the account from the private sector – who and what lost, how much he lost. They say that the losses of the private sector today are one trillion.
I can not say, because I need specific data, amounts, then we can talk about losses. “As for the lives lost, I believe there is no price.”
Volodymyr Zelensky also noted that the Azov Order is now “part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”, noting that Mariupol is not only protected by the Azov Order.
In particular, when asked to respond to the video that was shown in the Greek Parliament, he explained his position on the Azov Order: “Since the beginning of the war, there has been a lot of information from the Russian side about groups of volunteers and Ukrainian volunteer battalions.
This was in 2014, when volunteers from different parts of our state came together to protect Ukraine. Then we did not have as strong an army as we have today. Indeed, they were volunteers, ordinary people and the armed forces were fighting.
Really, the reactions to the statements of these volunteer battalions varied. Because many of these statements were quite radical about the Russian Federation. They were volunteers. It was their personal point of view and their personal steps “.
He added: “There are Ukrainian armed forces, and I want us all to understand the difference. There is also the Azov Order, which is not made up of volunteers, but is part of the National Guard of our state.
Today it is part of the armed forces and all of them are official army of our state. Some of those who volunteered at the beginning of the war turned to politics and stayed there.
Those who decided to continue in the armed forces of Ukraine, became military and are part of the armed forces of Ukraine. They are two different things. Mariupol is protected by professional soldiers, it is protected not only by the Azov Order.
There is also a national guard, border guards, commandos, there are the armed forces of Ukraine. And with all due respect to any volunteers who have done so much since the beginning of the war, we must understand that no one can fight as the Ukrainian Armed Forces do.
“Whatever the volunteers were – we are grateful to them, but with so much courage to protect Azovstal and Mariupol, only professional soldiers can.”
Asked about the contradiction between Turkey wanting to maintain a peaceful stance in the Russo-Ukrainian war while at the same time using its army to challenge Greece, Volodymyr Zelensky replied:
“When you are at war, you must do what you can to unite the states around you, even those that have historically had difficult relations. We must do everything we can to have all these states on our side, because Ukraine needs partners and friends.
Otherwise we will not be able to defeat the Russian Federation that attacked us. I will be completely honest with you – for example, we have the support of Turkey and we have the support of Greece. I will tell you honestly that we have questions for both Turkey and Greece.
This is life and each state has its own interests and interests. On the other hand – we have the support of the government, the state leadership and we have received this help. I am grateful for that.
Here we are. I would like everyone in Greece to support us, I would like them to choose our side, everything happened, the main thing is that now we have the support. And the most important thing is that the people of Greece support us and I am grateful for that.
On the other hand, I understand that in Greece a large part of the budget revenues comes from tourism. “Of course, Russian tourism has brought a lot of money to Greece for many years.”
He added: “We believe that they make money by shedding blood, and this money is spent. The same goes for Turkey. On the one hand, Turkey acts as a mediator and supports Ukraine with important steps, and on the other hand, we see, for example, preparing. at the same time, several tourist routes.
Especially for Russian tourism. We see that too. And I, as President, if we want to have friendly relations, I must say this, that it is not possible to do so. You can not deal with it that way, it’s double standard. This is not fair.
That is why I draw Turkey’s attention to such possibilities, I believe that it can not be so, because a choice must be made – are you in favor of the truth or not. ”
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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