প্রকাশ: 02/03/2022
Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Russia must stop bombing Ukrainian cities
before meaningful talks on a ceasefire could start, as a first round of
negotiations this week had yielded scant progress.
Speaking in an interview in a heavily guarded government
compound, Zelenskiy urged NATO members to impose a no fly zone to stop the
Russian air force, saying this would be a preventative measure and not meant to
drag the alliance into war with Russia.
Zelenskiy, who has refused offers to leave the Ukrainian
capital as Russian forces advanced, also said Ukraine would demand legally
binding security guarantees if NATO shut the door on Ukraine's membership
prospects.
Setting out his conditions for further talks with Russia,
Zelenskiy told Reuters and CNN in a joint interview: "It's necessary to at
least stop bombing people, just stop the bombing and then sit down at the
negotiating table."
Just as he was speaking, news emerged that a Russian missile
had struck a TV tower near a Holocaust memorial site in the Ukrainian capital,
killing at least five people. Earlier on Tuesday, missiles struck the heart of
the eastern city of Kharkiv.
If Not NATO, Then Guarantees
Ukraine has received weapons shipments from NATO members to
help withstand a full-scale military invasion unleashed by Russian forces last
week, while the West has also introduced swingeing sanctions on the Russian
economy.
But Zelenskiy has urged the international community to do
more, including imposing a no fly zone.
"This is not about dragging NATO countries into war.
The truth is everyone has long since been dragged into war and definitely not
by Ukraine, but by Russia - a large-scale war is going on," Zelenskiy
said.
He said, however, that U.S. President Joe Biden had
personally conveyed to him that now was not the time to introduce such a
measure.
Ukraine has pressed NATO to accelerate its entry, a move
fiercely opposed by Russia and cited as one of Moscow's reasons for launching
its campaign.
"Our partners, if they are not ready to take Ukraine
into NATO ... because Russia does not want Ukraine to be in NATO, should work
out common security guarantees for Ukraine," Zelenskiy said.
"This means that we have our territorial integrity,
that our borders are protected, we have special relations with all our
neighbours, we are completely safe, and the guarantors that give us security,
they guarantee this legally."
The 44-year-old president was unshaven and wore a simple
khaki T-shirt, trousers and combat boots for the interview, which took place in
a building heavily guarded by the military.
Fight to The End
Russia has not made quick early gains or captured major
cities in what it calls a special military operation against its neighbour.
While Ukraine has stood alone on the battlefield, it has
pressed Europe to recognise that its own security is tied to that of the West.
"It is very important to know that if Ukraine falls,
then all these (Russian) troops will be on the borders of your NATO member
countries .... and you will be facing the same question there," Zelenskiy
said.
He ruled that Europe and the United States had ignored
Kyiv's pleas for pre-emptive sanctions before the war started, but welcomed the
impact they were now having on Russia.
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine's allies had offered financing
to prop it up during the war, but urged them to act quickly.
"We have a war every day, we need help every day,"
he said. "There is not a lot of time for discussion."
The president has remained in Kyiv to rally his people
against the Russian invasion, now in its sixth day, posting social media videos
and constantly reassuring the population that neither he, his family or closest
officials have left.
Asked about his daily regime, he replied: "I work and I
sleep." He appeared emotional as he added that he had not seen his
children for two days.
Asked how long his country would hold out, Zelenskiy said:
"We do not hold out, we fight, and our nation will fight to the end. This
is our home, we are protecting out land, our homes. For the sake of our
children's future."
Children were dying, he said.
"We have something to defend, we are defending our
right to live. And what are they (Russians) doing here? They don't understand
our people, our state, our philosophy... They don't know anything here, they
were sent here to kill and to die. Therefore, we are stronger on our own land,
and we will be stronger."
- Reuters
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