Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News that victory for Russia in the war against Ukraine is possible only in conditions of a prolonged conflict and the absence of international sanctions. He emphasized that while preserving the unity of the world community and continuing Western support, Vladimir Putin will not be able to achieve military success, News.bg writes.
"Putin cannot win if the world is united and on our side. This is impossible. Victory for him is possible only if the war becomes extremely long - many years - and if there are no sanctions," Zelensky emphasized. He also rejected the thesis attributed to US President Donald Trump that Russia is already winning the war, stating that the conquest of thousands of square kilometers at the cost of hundreds of thousands of victims is not a victory, but the result of military inertia and a huge amount of weapons.
Zelensky warned that a possible termination of US aid would lead to significantly greater losses for Ukraine and increase Russia's chances of success. However, he recalled that even at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when Ukraine was almost alone, Moscow was unable to achieve a quick victory.
The Ukrainian president again called for strengthening sanctions, including by radically reducing the ceiling on the price of Russian oil to $ 30 per barrel. He emphasized that the Russian economy continues to rely on the export of energy resources and that a strike on this sector would have a strong effect.
In the interview, Zelensky also revealed that the United States has redirected 20,000 missiles intended to combat Iranian "Shahed" drones in Ukraine to the Middle East. According to him, this decision was made by the Pentagon during the previous administration. He specified that these are cheap but technologically specific missiles that Kiev had been counting on.
"We thought we would receive them. This morning my defense minister informed me that these missiles have already been moved to the Middle East," Zelensky said.