'Stop playing' with Russia, end war: Zelenskiy tells West

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint news conference with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, amid Russia's invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the West to cease toying with Russia and put harder sanctions on Moscow in order to end the "senseless war" in Ukraine, adding that his country will remain independent at any cost.

 

Zelenskiy's criticism of the West has grown in recent days, as the European Union inches closer to imposing a possible Russian oil embargo and as tens of thousands of Russian troops attempt to encircle two major eastern cities, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.

 

Russia has abandoned its assault on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, three months into its invasion, and is attempting to solidify control of the industrial eastern Donbas area, where it has backed a separatist insurgency since 2014.

 

After a shift in momentum towards Russia following the capitulation of Ukraine's garrison in Mariupol last week, Western military analysts regard the struggle for Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk as a potential turning point in the war.

 

"Ukraine will always be a sovereign nation that will not be broken. The only question is how much our people will be willing to pay for their freedom, and how much Russia will be willing to pay for its stupid war against us "In a late-night address on Thursday, Zelenskiy stated.

"The catastrophic unfolding events could be still stopped if the world treated the situation in Ukraine as if it were facing the same situation, if the powers that be did not play around with Russia but really pressed to end the war."

 

Zelenskiy complained about disagreements within the EU on more sanctions against Russia and asked why some nations were being allowed to block the plan.

 

The EU is debating a sixth wave of sanctions, which may include a ban on Russian oil imports. Unanimity is required for such a move, but Hungary is now opposed to the notion, claiming that its economy will suffer too much.

 

"How long will the European Union strive to get an agreement on a sixth package?" Zelenskiy inquired, noting that Russia receives one billion euros each day in energy imports from the 27-nation union.

 

"It is literally a question of life and death to put pressure on Russia.

 

Every day of procrastination, weakness, numerous conflicts, or offers to 'pacify' the aggressor at the expense of the victim results in the deaths of more Ukrainians."

 

For the second day in a row, Zelenskiy has stepped up his criticism of the international response to the war.

On Thursday, Russian soldiers attacked Ukrainian forces in Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk from three directions in an attempt to encircle them, according to Ukraine's military. Nearly the entire Donbas province of Luhansk would be under Russian control if the two cities spanning the Siverskiy Donets river fell.

 

Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of Luhansk, said some 50 Russian forces had arrived at the highway and "managed to gain a footing," even setting up a checkpoint.

 

"They were forced back... the Russian army does not control the path yet, but they are shelling it," he claimed. There was a chance that Ukrainian troops would leave "There may be one or two settlements. Not the fight, but the war, is what we need to win "he stated

 

"It is clear that our boys are slowly retreating to more fortified positions - we need to hold back this horde."

 

Vadym Denisenko, a Ukrainian interior ministry adviser, told a briefing that 25 Russian battalions were seeking to surround Ukrainian forces.

 

In Svitlodarsk, where Ukrainian forces withdrew earlier this week, Reuters journalists in Russian-controlled territory further south found proof of Moscow's advance.

 

Pro-Russian fighters have taken control of the town, occupying the local government building and displaying a Soviet hammer and sickle flag on the entrance.

 

Drone imagery from the neighboring abandoned battleground showed holes dotting a grassy area surrounded by ruined structures, according to Reuters. In trenches, pro-Russian fighters milled about.

 

Massive artillery shelling has aided the Donbas advance. On Thursday, 50 towns in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces were shelled, according to the military.

 

The head of Ukraine's armed forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny, called on Telegram for more Western arms, particularly "weapons that will allow us to hit the enemy at a big distance".

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later warned that any supplies of weapons that could reach Russian territory would be a "a serious step towards unacceptable escalation".

 

Western countries led by the United States have provided Ukraine with long-range weaponry, including M777 howitzers from Washington and Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark.

 

Washington is even considering providing Kyiv with a rocket system that can have a range of hundreds of kilometres, and has held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. and diplomatic officials told Reuters.

 

"We have concerns about escalation and yet still do not want to put geographic limits or tie their hands too much with the stuff we're giving them," said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression.  

 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow expects Ukraine to accept its demands at any future peace talks. It wants Kyiv to recognise Russian sovereignty over the Crimea peninsula Moscow seized in 2014, and the independence of separatist-claimed territory.

 

Source: Reuters