Zelensky claims US politicians 'don't care' about Ukraine
(Baonghean.vn) - Ukrainian President Zelensky accused US politicians of playing politics around the issue of aid to Kiev, saying they do not care how many people in Ukraine are dying.
Zelensky's comments came as US lawmakers prepared to vote on a controversial aid package for Ukraine that has stalled in Congress for months due to a bitter dispute between Democrats and Republicans.
In an interview, President Zelensky referred to comments made over the weekend by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The US politician told Fox News that he planned to vote on the Israel aid bill this week, without specifying when the Ukraine aid package would be passed or whether it would be tied to funding for West Jerusalem.
“This is pure politics, and it is a disgrace to the world and a disgrace to democracy,” President Zelensky told PBS NewsHour. “Nobody cares how many people die in Ukraine every day. They only care about their approval ratings,” he added.
The delay in approving more weapons for Ukraine has worried Zelensky and other officials in Kiev, who blame the rising battlefield losses on a lack of foreign-supplied ammunition and air defenses. In the PBS interview, Zelensky reiterated that without US support, Ukraine “would have no chance of winning” its conflict with Russia.
On Tuesday, Zelensky signed a controversial mobilization proposal into law, giving his government more power to enforce conscription and punish draft dodgers. It also obliges local governments and police to help the military with mobilization efforts. The bill does not include a provision to allow soldiers to return home after three years of service, which was the policy before the current conflict broke out in February 2022.
In addition, President Zelensky said that a lack of anti-aircraft missiles prevented the country from stopping last week's Russian missile attack, which destroyed the largest power plant in the area around the capital Kiev. President Zelensky's statement, which came after repeated warnings from the Ukrainian government to its allies about the shortage of air defense systems, reflected the dire situation Kiev finds itself in as Moscow escalates its attacks on Ukraine's energy systems. According to Mr. Zelensky, 11 missiles were launched by the Russian military, the first seven of which were successfully intercepted by Ukraine, but the remaining four destroyed the Trypillia Thermal Power Plant because "we ran out of missiles to protect this facility."
In addition, the Ukrainian leader admitted that the strength of the Russian army is many times superior to Ukraine's capabilities, therefore, without Western help, Kiev would have no chance to continue fighting.
According to Mr. Zelensky, the ratio of Ukrainian artillery shells to Russian is 1/10 and his forces cannot stand firm because they will be pushed back by the Russian army every day. The Ukrainian president highlighted Kiev's need for weapons when he affirmed: "To protect 100% of what is under our control, we need a ratio of 10/10." Previously, he also admitted that Ukraine would not be able to equip the brigades without support from the US./.
