Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine
MADRID, June 1 (Royals Blue) –
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has affirmed that every day “between 60 and one hundred soldiers” die in combats with the Russian forces and the separatist militias of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, in the framework of the conflict unleashed on February 24 by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The situation is very difficult. We are losing between 60 and a hundred soldiers a day, killed in combat, and around 500 wounded in action. We are maintaining our defensive perimeter,” he explained in an interview with Newsmax television. Thus, he has said that this perimeter “is not something natural, but a physical barrier” created by the Ukrainian population.
Zelenski has underlined that Russia is “a dark power” and has warned that the Russian authorities “are not going to stop in Ukraine”. “Other countries, the former Soviet republics and members of the European Union (EU), some of them already in NATO, are under threat,” he stressed.
However, he has emphasized Russia’s “weakness” for failing to occupy Ukraine and “assassinate the leader” of the country, referring to himself. “If you can’t speak, it’s weakness. It’s weakness to start the war, they’ve already shown it. If you can’t occupy that country, it’s weakness,” he argued.
“At the same time, if you want something to happen to the family of the leader of another country, it is a political inability to do something,” he said. “Everyone knows I’m here. You can drop bombs on this place, but what would you achieve?” the Ukrainian president asked.
In this sense, he has emphasized that the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, is “almost isolated”. “The world always keeps giving him a chance, as the sanctions have not been fully applied. There are gaps when some leaders say that the Russian leader should be offered a way out,” he has argued.
Zelensky has also stressed that the world must stop defending Putin’s “atrocities” and has called for more sanctions against Russia. “The most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and in the south of Donetsk and Lugansk,” said the president, adding that “God” is on Ukraine’s side.