What has been done in Bucha is unforgivable, but Ukraine and Russia must take the difficult step of continuing negotiations.
Ukraine has no choice but to negotiate a cessation of hostilities with Russia, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said he was ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but admitted that such a meeting may not take place, Reuters and UNIAN reported.
Zelensky spoke on the subject after yesterday accusing Russian forces of carrying out extrajudicial executions in the city of Bucha, west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
“All of us, myself included, will accept even the slightest opportunity for negotiations as a challenge,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian journalists on national television. “The challenge is an internal, first and foremost, personally conscious, human challenge. Then, when you come to your senses, you realize you have to do it, I think we have no choice,” Zelensky said, referring to talks with Moscow. However, he stressed that Moscow needs to recognize what its troops have allegedly done as a prerequisite for continuing peace talks.
Zelensky added that Ukraine’s efforts to drive Russian forces out of Mariupol were difficult and that the situation in Mariupol was “very complicated”. He added that Turkey had proposed a plan to help evacuate the wounded and remove the bodies of those killed from the city, but warned that the initiative depended on Putin’s will.
“Ukraine will become a ‘greater Israel,’ and security will be a top priority for the next 10 years,” he said.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Kyiv has asked European politicians to sever all trade ties with Moscow, saying all payments to Russia are “blood money” and support its army, Reuters reported.
“For every euro, every penny you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia, there is blood, it’s blood money, and the blood on that money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of the Ukrainian people,” Vitali Klitschko said in a video link. mayors in Geneva.
Meanwhile, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said information about the killings of civilians in Bucha was “fabricated fake news” aimed at discrediting Russia. Moscow has said it will present “empirical evidence” today at a UN Security Council meeting to prove that its troops have nothing to do with it.
Zelensky: Ukraine deserves to be a full member of the EU
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Swedish lawmakers today that his country deserves to be a full member of the European Union, weeks after he and his government formally applied for membership in the bloc. He also called on NATO leaders “never again” not to say that Ukraine’s army does not fit into Alliance standards.
“We are not only fighting for the people of Ukraine, but the security of Europe, and we have shown that we deserve to be a full member of the EU,” Zelensky told the Guardian during today’s video conference call. In recent weeks, the head of state has addressed lawmakers in many countries, including Germany, Canada, and the United States.
“It is an honor for President Zelenski to address the Swedish parliament today. Strong words from a brave leader. Aid to Ukraine is increasing day by day. We are in full solidarity with Ukraine and against Russian aggression, “said Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson, according to an official Twitter account.
In the first days after the Russian invasion, Vladimir Zelensky, Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk signed an application for EU membership. The issue of Ukraine’s accession to the bloc was high during a meeting of the union’s leaders earlier this month.
This afternoon, Zelenski also posted on Facebook his speech to NATO leaders meeting at Alliance headquarters. “Please never tell us again that our army does not meet NATO standards. “We have shown what our standards are capable of and how much we can contribute to the common security of Europe and the world,” he said.
“Ukraine has asked for your planes so that we do not lose so many people. You have thousands of fighter jets, but we haven’t been given any yet. We asked for tanks to unblock our perishing cities – Mariupol, Berdyansk, Melitopol, and others… You have at least 20,000 tanks. Ukraine has asked for 1% of your tanks to be given or sold to us. But we still don’t have a clear answer, “Zelenski said. He warned that Russia has no intention of stopping with Ukraine. “Russia wants to go further,” he said.
