Volodimir Zelensky told several Spanish media this Friday that he has become accustomed to living under threat, but stressed that the Russian president faces even greater risks. “Only Russia wants to kill me, but the whole world wants to kill Putin,” he shot.
The Ukrainian leader says if his troops don’t resist and Russia advances into Poland or the Baltic states, “that would mean World War III,” but that the best way to make Putin see that NATO is not afraid of anyone is to approve it of Ukraine’s accession.
“We are pleased to receive NATO’s invitation to the Vilnius Summit”, he admitted, referring to the alliance’s next meeting on July 11 and 12. “NATO is the best guarantee of security” in the face of open conflict with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We don’t allow any other alternative,” Zelensky said of the possible entry.
The Ukrainian president estimates that his army has eliminated about 100,000 Wagner group paramilitaries (21,000 dead and 80,000 wounded), but he refuses to disclose the number of casualties among Ukrainian troops.
Zelensky insists Russia is planning to generate a radioactive leak from the Zaporijia Nuclear Power Plant and believes there are 5,000 heavily armed Russian soldiers at the site.
In the counter-offensive, he was careful and stressed that he cannot send Ukrainian soldiers to “certain death”. “Our people are our treasure,” he insisted, guaranteeing that he would rather take four or five months to rescue victims than gain ground in two months with thousands dead.
The Ukrainian president again asked the Allies for artillery, as well as anti-aircraft systems and “modern” aircraft to defeat Russian dominance in the skies. With more weapons, he says, Ukraine will be able to save civilians and 95% of the critical infrastructure Russia attacks, such as electricity, ports or railways.
Zelensky also commented on caution about the crisis between the Russian government and Wagner’s leader. “From there they can prepare attacks [Bielorrússia]or organizing “sabotage groups” that endanger not only Ukraine, but also Poland or Lithuania, areas of NATO, admitting that he had already asked his commanders to pay special attention to the border with Belarus, as this the closest point was from where you can go to Kiev.
Still, he believes that Russia is a country divided between those who support Prigozhin and Putin, which could have beneficial consequences for Ukrainian troops on the battlefield. “We must take advantage of all this to drive out the enemy,” he predicted.
Source: DN
