Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that it is very it is important that the international community does not get tired of the war in Ukraine, which, according to him, Russia is pursuing through disinformation, France Press reported, quoted by BTA.
"For Ukrainians, it is very important that the world does not get tired" from the war that has been going on for more than two years on the doorstep of the European Union, Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Lisbon.
"Otherwise there will be no justice, otherwise the world will be changed by people like (Vladimir) Putin," he added.
Until now, Ukraine has managed to "maintain the solidarity of the world", Zelensky stressed, but admitted that "this is very difficult". Russia is trying to undermine international support for Kiev, particularly through disinformation campaigns.
"They are very strong in terms of disinformation," Volodymyr Zelensky warned, calling on people "not to believe the lies that Russia spreads".
Ukraine Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal and a group of EU leaders met in Prague to discuss the implementation of the initiative to purchase artillery shells, for which more than 1.6 billion euros have already been collected, Ukrinform reported.< /strong>
In Telegram, Shmigal informed about his visit to Prague.
"At the invitation of Czech Prime Minister Petar Fiala, we arrived in Prague to participate in a wide-ranging working meeting to discuss the needs of Ukraine together with the leaders of Poland, Latvia, Denmark, the Netherlands and a representative of the United States. During the bilateral meeting with Mr. Fiala, we discussed the implementation of the artillery initiative, which has already raised more than 1.6 billion euros. It is important for us that the ammunition be delivered in a timely, systematic and planned manner starting from June," he wrote.
Shmigal noted that he and Fiala also discussed the possibility of Ukraine using its partners' weapons to strike military targets on Russian territory. He thanked the Czech Prime Minister for the support in this area.
Schmigal added that among the topics of the talks were joint production in the defense industry, joint efforts to increase pressure on Russia. Sanctions, the confiscation of frozen Russian assets, the Peace Formula and other important issues of cooperation were also discussed.
The White House assures that the US administration does not seek to escalate the conflict in Ukraine in any form, TASS reported.
At the regular press briefing, White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre was asked to comment on remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who suggested the alliance's allies should reconsider whether Ukraine should be able to strike military targets with Western weapons. objects located on the internationally recognized Russian territory.
"We are very grateful to our NATO allies, more than 50 countries, who managed to unite and support Ukraine in its struggle for its own sovereign territory. I just don't have anything beyond that. To be honest, we don't want this situation [in Ukraine] to escalate in any form," Jean-Pierre replied.
According to her, high-ranking officials from the Washington administration "clearly stated the [American] position on the use of military aid“ provided to Kiev. The US executive branch, the White House spokeswoman continued, considers it important for Congress to approve additional budget appropriations for aid to Ukraine in April so that Kiev can "continue to protect its democracy”. "We want this to continue," the White House spokeswoman added.
"We believe that Ukraine should have everything it needs for self-defense. This is our position".
Germany and France want the major Western industrial countries to provide billions more in aid to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a Franco-German government meeting today near Berlin, DPA reported.
The possibility of using interest income from the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank is being considered, Scholz said at the Meseberg Palace.
"We want to give Ukraine access to additional funding worth billions so that it can reliably secure its defense and thus further increase the security of the whole of Europe," the German chancellor said, adding that the aim was to unite and strengthen the efforts of the G-7 countries and the European Union.
Scholz's comments come amid talks between the finance ministers of the major Western G7 countries at the end of last week, where they discussed ways to use those interest rates, but failed to reach an agreement.
Recently, Washington proposed that the G-7 countries provide Ukraine with a loan of up to 50 billion dollars, which would be secured by interest income from the frozen funds of the Russian Central Bank.
EU countries reacted cautiously as the US proposal also included future interest income that may not be available depending on the further level of interest rates and how the war in Ukraine continues.
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Brussels has decided to direct 90% of the already accumulated usable interest income to an EU fund to finance military equipment and training, and the remaining 10% to be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine's infrastructure.