Zelensky: British people are doing more to help us
BORIS Johnson is helping more than other leaders in Ukraine’s war against Russia thanks to pressure from British people, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Prime Minister has forged a close relationship with the Ukrainian president, speaking to him regularly by phone.
Mr Zelensky meanwhile, warned that France will not send more weapons “because they are afraid of Russia” and that Germany is “making a mistake” with its balanced approach due to their deeper economic ties with Moscow.
He said: “Britain is definitely on our side. It is not performing a balancing act. Britain sees no alternative for the way out of the situation. Britain wants Ukraine to win and Russia to lose.
“Johnson is a leader who is helping more. The leaders of countries react according to how their constituents act. In this case, Johnson is an example.”
The Prime Minister has pledged to send another 6,000 missiles to Ukraine and pay the wages of some Ukrainian soldiers. The UK has already sent 4,000 missiles to Ukraine but the country’s stock of hi-tech arms is said to be running low and may only last another week.
Mr Zelensky yesterday said he had discussed tougher sanctions against Russia in his latest call with Mr Johnson.
He said the pair talked about the “critical humanitarian situation in the blocked cities” and also “shared information about the peace talks”.
They discussed “strengthening sanctions against Russia and defence co-operation between Ukraine and Britain”, he added.
Asked why France’s leader Emmanuel Macron had ruled out the supply of tanks to Ukraine, Mr Zelensky replied: “Because they are afraid of Russia.”
On Germany, he said: “They have a long relationship with Russia and they are looking at the situation through the prism of the economy. They help out at times. I’m not ready to say whether Britain wants the war to drag on or not. For other countries, it would be better if the war ended quickly, as Russia’s market is a big one that their economies are suffering as a result of the war.
“Other truly wealthy countries recognise Nazism in Russia and want Ukraine to be victorious.”
He said that there were smaller, strong supporters of Ukraine who wanted the war to stop whatever the cost “because people come first”.
Mr Zelensky said of Putin: “He has to understand what is going on and we have to understand each other, if it’s possible. It’s not about respect, about love.
“I don’t think he visualises in his mind the same Ukraine we see. He sees [it] as a part of his world, his world view, but that doesn’t correspond with what’s happened in the last 30 years.
“I don’t think he has been [in] a bunker for two weeks or six months, but two decades.”