Find out what the Head of State had to say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in an interview on Italian TV channel Roy 1's Cinque Minute program, spoke about the missile attack on Odessa during the visit of the Greek Prime Minister, the need for Ukraine to acquire long-range missiles in the war against the Russian Federation, and the determination of the Ukrainian people to continue the struggle.
TSN.ua collected the main points from the interview of the Ukrainian leader.
Zelensky reported how many times Putin had tried to kill him
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to kill him more than 10 times.
The TV anchor asked the president: “How many times did Putin try to kill you?” “They say more than ten. But this is what the authorities, special services and intelligence say, so I did not calculate this number honestly,” replied the Ukrainian leader.
“It seems to me that all of our people in Ukraine, the soldiers at the front line are risking their lives every day, the civilians that are being attacked like in Odessa are also risking their lives. And I am the president of my country, so I take risks. I should be in the same position as every Ukrainian.” Zelensky said.
Missile attack by Greek Prime Minister Zelensky in Odesa
The Ukrainian president spoke about Russia's missile attack at the port of Odessa, where he was staying with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“We were at the port. A few hundred, as I understand it, 300-400 meters, there was a ballistic missile attack. The missile came very quickly, the siren began to work, but very briefly, because the strike came from occupied Crimea,” said Zelensky.
He explained that as the Russians attacked with ballistics from Crimea, the Ukrainian defenders had no time to react.
“I don't know who this hit was aimed at. In any case, it is incredible that we have a Prime Minister from another state. I'm not talking about myself, I'm talking about giving respect to leaders of other countries, people of other countries. You see, from Russia, from Putin, it is simply not – to attack with a ballistic missile during the visit of the Prime Minister of Greece. He was very surprised, but I was not,” said the Ukrainian leader.
Is a break in the war with Russia possible?
The president called the breakdown in the war with Russia a challenge and a problem. After all, only the Kremlin will benefit from this pause: “The break in the war is a very serious challenge and a big problem for Ukraine, for its security, for its future, and I think the frozen conflict is also big. The problem for all of Europe. After occupying Crimea and part of the Donbass, we have such The experience happened.”
Zelensky noted that there are now reports of suspension in various media and from some leaders. On the contrary, he says, all this indicates that the conflict is frozen. Some call it a truce. However, the Ukrainian leader declares, “We've already passed this.”
“This is not a pause in the war, this is a pause for Putin. He needs a break to gather his strength. We see a huge shortage of missiles among them. They are trying to buy them in Iran and have already taken them to North Korea. They have a shortage of artillery shells. They are taking them to North Korea. Drones are in Iran. “They need this pause because they lack experienced military personnel. This pause will be in Putin's hands, and that after 2014, the frozen conflict gave them the opportunity to build up their forces, stockpile weapons, and then invade Ukraine. He can do the same,” Zelensky emphasized.
Putin's goal is not individual territories, but Ukraine as a whole
President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Putin is not interested in “some territory” and that his plan is to completely destroy Ukraine.
“I don't think that his target is any territories. Attacks on civilian objects, threats to people, public statements in the media of Putin's entourage – all these messages indicate that, as they say, they have not finished their work and will continue to do so. … All these messages are his personal target. “Represents the whole of Ukraine, not territories. Therefore, no one has yet guaranteed Ukraine except for Ukraine's forces and allies,” the president noted.
“We are sure that Putin is not interested in any territory – a city or a village, Crimea or Donbass. He is interested in the complete destruction of Ukraine, annexing the lands of independent Ukraine to Russia. He does such things by force or politically. What he did in Belarus – the victims so far. And without blood. He completely controls the power bloc and the troops of Belarus. The attack on Ukraine from the territory of Belarus on the first night of the full-scale invasion is proof of that,” Zelensky added.
“This is diplomatic aggression of a free country and loss of sovereignty of Belarus. In Ukraine, politically, he couldn't do that. … That's why he started the military occupation. He has no plan for Crimea or Donbass. It's just rhetoric. His plan is to take away Ukraine's independence,” he said. Briefly stated.
On what basis can the previous situation be changed
Long-range weapons could change the course of the war in Ukraine, Zelensky is optimistic. The presence of modern long-range weapons will help the Ukrainian forces advance.
“If you have the right weapons, you can respond to the Russian army using long-range weapons in your civilian cities. For example, Kherson, they stand on the other bank of the Dnieper, and their range is much greater than ours. They shoot 20 km plus, and we have artillery shells up to 20 km. You have If you have a long-range weapon, you can knock them back further,” the head of state said.
According to the president, the presence of such weapons, at least equivalent to Russian weapons, will allow Ukrainian troops to advance to the front.
Earlier we wrote as Putin wanted to end the war. For the first time, it became known in detail under what conditions the dictator was ready to withdraw his forces from Ukraine. He sent the contract back to Zelensky on April 15, 2022 – the day of the breakthrough at “Azovstal” in Mariupol. Even then, Russia wanted to sit at the negotiating table, but did not fully explain what it wanted in return. Details are in the material.
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