The President of under pressure Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday condemned his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognise breakaway republics and send Russian troops into his country.
Speaking in a broadcast which was monitored by Africa Today News, New York on Tuesday morning, Zelenskiy said; ‘But we are on our own land, we are not afraid of anything and anybody, we owe nothing to no one, and we will give nothing to no one’.
He went on to accuse Russia of wrecking peace efforts and ruled out making any territorial concessions.
Zelenskiy spoke after Russia’s decision to formally recognise two Moscow-backed regions of eastern Ukraine as independent and send troops to the region, accelerating a crisis that the West fears could unleash a major war.
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After chairing a security council meeting, Zelenskiy accused Russia of violating Ukraine’s sovereign territory and said it could mean Moscow pulling the plug on the Minsk peace talks aimed at ending the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine wanted to solve the crisis through diplomacy but that his country was ready to dig in for the long haul.
‘We are committed to the peaceful and diplomatic path, we will follow it and only it,’ Zelenskiy said.
He called for an emergency summit of the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France while urging Ukraine’s allies to take action against Russia.
Russia’s actions drew U.S. and European condemnation and vows of new sanctions although it was not immediately clear whether the Russian military action would be regarded by the West as the start of a full scale invasion.
The area was already controlled by Russian-backed separatists and Moscow in practice.
Africa Today News, New York reports that Zelenskiy’s administration has voiced frustration at the West’s unwillingness to impose preemptive sanctions after Russia massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders in recent weeks.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK