Russia is fading, but Ukraine must grow stronger to outlast it – Poroshenko
Member of Parliament and leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko has said that Ukraine can defeat Russia in a war of attrition if it acts more responsibly, receives long-range weapons, and additional sanctions will be imposed against Russia, the political force's website reports.
"A war of endurance is now being fought by both Ukraine, which is having a very difficult time, which surprises the world, and Russia. We are told that Russia is big, it has great potential, it has an unstoppable army, it has, unlike us, an economy that is geared towards military purposes. And it is all true. Don't believe anyone who tries to put on rose-colored glasses for you. But it is also fading. And we need to be stronger, more responsible, in order not to be erased before Russia," Poroshenko said on the Pryamiy TV channel on Tuesday.
He noted that the Russian Federation has almost completely used up the reserves of its sovereign fund, has its assets blocked in Western banks and has begun to sell off monetary gold, which, according to him, "means that the Russians have nothing left to sell."
"We are talking about the fact that we need to block what is coming to Russia, currency flows... If we block oil, including voting on the resolution introduced by Poroshenko and the European Solidarity to stop the transit of Russian oil through the territory of Ukraine for Hungary and Slovakia - because this gives Russia $7 billion a year... Russia receives $21 million a day for transit through the territory of Ukraine," the politician said.
He noted that Russia must be forced to agree to a ceasefire during negotiations, or hellish sanctions will be applied against it, and Ukraine will receive long-range weapons. "Then I have certain grounds for optimism that Ukraine will survive if we are responsible, mature and united, and Russia will lose, because the unification of sanctions, long-range weapons... this is completely realistic," Poroshenko said.
