“Europe must show strength. Because Russia perceives only strength as an argument. It’s time. It’s time for you to be not separate, not fragments, but one whole,” Zelensky emphasized. He also referred to the export blockade, the death of the journalist and the situation at the front.
“One of the key tasks of the day was communication. For the approval of the sixth package of sanctions by the European Union. The pause in agreeing on new sanctions in Europe has been too long. The fifth sanctions package was introduced on April 8. So, a lot of time has passed without strengthening European sanctions against Russia (…) Russia must feel a much higher price for its aggression,” the Ukrainian President said.
“The key point is, of course, the oil. I believe that Europe will have to give up Russian oil and oil products in any case. Because this is about the independence of Europeans themselves from Russian energy weapons,” he added.
President Zelensky referred also to the European Union Leaders’ summit and blockage of export. He pointed out that “there are 22 tons of grains in the warehouses in Ukraine and they cannot be exported because of the war.”
He also spoke about the war:
“In the Luhansk region, the occupiers disrupted the evacuation from the areas of hostilities by firing at a car following the locals. French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was killed by the shelling. He worked for the French TV channel BFM TV. A little over a month ago, I gave an interview to this particular TV channel. This was my first interview with the French media during a full-scale war. My sincere condolences to Frédéric’s colleagues and family. He became the 32nd media representative killed after February 24,” Zelensky wrote.
“This year, instead of the last bell there is the sound of an air alarm. More than 1,800 educational institutions across Ukraine have been damaged by the occupiers. Broken windows, damaged desks. Life froze in school classrooms back on February 23. But no matter how difficult it is now, Ukrainians cannot be broken. We will fight, develop, and study. For the sake of freedom and our future victory,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram yesterday.