Russia is trying to destabilize the situation and obstruct Ukrainians’ right to live in the EU

President Petro Poroshenko emphasized that Ukraine was struggling for European values and territorial integrity, and Russia was trying to destabilize the situation, obstruct the Ukrainians’ right to choose their path – live in the EU and not to be a part of the Soviet Union anymore.

“Russia understands that it cannot win in this war, for Ukraine has a strong spirit, Ukrainian nation is untied as never before and the whole world demonstrates solidarity with Ukraine,” the President said in the interview to Bloomberg.

Answering the question about the real purpose of Russia, the President noted: “Destabilization of the situation in Ukraine. It is not a war inside Ukraine. It is an aggression of Russia against Ukraine with only one purpose – destabilize the situation and obstruct the right of Ukrainians to live in the EU, implement the European values in the country and stop being a part of Russian empire”.

The President emphasized that Ukraine paid a huge price for that right. More than 1,700 Ukrainian warriors were killed defending the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. More than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians were killed.

The Head of State stressed that Ukraine responsibly observed its commitments under the Minsk agreements. The other party doesn’t observe them and it is confirmed by the OSCE mission.

Commenting on the issue of sanctions against Russia, the President expressed an opinion that the most efficient sanctions were the sectoral ones, inter alia, financial – payment systems, SWIFT etc. “The purpose of these sanctions is not to do harm to Russia, but to create a motivation for it to stop the aggression, cease fire and stimulate the fulfillment of the agreements in economic, social, humanitarian, security and other spheres,” the President said.

Petro Poroshenko agrees with the position of President of the U.S. Barack Obama that Russia is trying to restore the Soviet Union.

The President has underlined the need for establishing new mechanisms of the international security guarantees. According to him, the decision to deploy heavy weaponry in the countries of the former Warsaw Pact – current NATO members is a “mechanism for guaranteeing security”. At the same time, the President noted that one must continue looking for a diplomatic solution, reform the UN Security Council and the European security system, use all opportunities to prevent the aggression on the European continent. “After the Russian annexation of Crimea and aggression in Donbas, global security system based on the UN Security Council’s decision is no more efficient. It has been virtually destroyed, because one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council is an aggressor,” the President said.

“Everyone should understand that Ukraine is fighting not only for its independence and territorial integrity, but also for freedom and democracy. It is fighting against the aggressor who blatantly violated the international law,” the President emphasized.

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