The Ukrainian president calls for help from the eastern NATO countries after lamenting that “they have left us alone” in the war against Russia
The president of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, this morning called for help from the so-called Bucharest Nine, the group of countries from the former Soviet bloc currently framed in NATO and the European community space. “We need a coalition against the war,” said the president, who hopes to get from this group the support that forces Moscow to “sit down” at a negotiating table. The president places a good part of his hopes on the pressure of the eastern governments after regretting the attitude of the westerners, the Alliance and the European Union, whom he reproaches for “having left us alone” in the war against Russia. Not even the sanctions approved on Thursday have served to stop the attacks, he points out.
Zelensky’s statements come on a particularly violent morning in the Ukrainian capital. The bombings have reproduced again at dawn and long phases of assault weapons fire have been heard. The Ministry of Defense reported a few minutes ago that more than 18,000 machine guns have been distributed among the resistance in Kiev and that local forces have “neutralized and shot” several “saboteurs” who tried to infiltrate the city with Ukrainian uniforms and cars. It also reports that the invading troops are a few kilometers from the center of Kiev, and both the SBU (the national security agency) and the US State Department consider at this time that the city will fall throughout the day.
“We are defending our freedom and our land. But we need effective international assistance,” said Zelenski, who last night had a telephone conversation with the Polish president, Andrzej Duda. “I addressed the Bucharest Nine about defense assistance, sanctions and pressure on the aggressor. We need a coalition against the war,” said the Ukrainian president. The bloc meeting has been called for this afternoon.
The Bucharest Nine is an organization that brings together the rulers of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. That is, to the countries that make up the eastern region of the Atlantic Alliance. The decision to appeal to them comes after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has declared that he will not send troops to Ukraine, since he is not a member of the Alliance, although he will strengthen his positions in neighboring countries. . And that the Ukrainian ruler finds himself increasingly alone on the ground and headed for a dead end.
It is highly doubtful that Zelensky will obtain a response from the Bucharest Nine beyond his commitment to the Ukrainian cause, sending aid or weapons, hosting refugees and guaranteeing that the ex-communist bloc will break commercial or economic ties with the provinces. Donetsk and Lugansk separatists. All of them are subject to NATO protocols. If any decide to provide direct military support to Ukraine, the crisis could enter a new spiral. Russia has warned that it will “rigorously” confront any third country that intervenes in the conflict and the rules of the Alliance imply that if one of its partners is attacked, the others must also consider themselves attacked. In other words, it should be forced into armed confrontation.
The Ukrainian president’s intention is for the former Soviet bloc to make a very intense diplomatic effort and put pressure on his Russian counterpart, Valdímir Putin, to return to the dialogue channel. A few minutes ago, he pointed out that “the longer it takes” to recover the negotiation, “there will be more casualties” on both sides and reiterates that Moscow will have to sit down to “talk” with the Ukrainian authorities “sooner or later” to end the fighting.
In several messages and statements made in recent hours, he complains bitterly about what he considers a very lax reaction from the West to the Russian offensive. “The most powerful forces in the world are watching from afar,” he denounces, while demanding a much tougher battery of sanctions against the Kremlin. “Did yesterday’s sanctions convince Russia? What we hear in our skies and see on our land is that it is not enough,” says Zelensky. “The fate of Ukraine depends only on the Ukrainians. No one but us will be able to control your lives », he concludes.
The president has multiplied the phrases of encouragement to the population. This morning he praised the “heroism” of citizens and encouraged them to “defend themselves from aggressors wherever they are seen”, in a clear allusion to taking up arms in support of increasingly fragile armed forces. The Government intends to avoid the discouragement of the population that the Kremlin is pursuing, in its opinion, with the new bombings in urban areas and that could undermine confidence in the Ukrainian Executive. Zelensky has just denounced that the artillery and missile attacks have intensified since half past four in the morning in the cities. “They said that civilians were not their target, but it is another one of their lies. Tonight, they started shelling civilian neighborhoods. This reminds us of 1941 », he has stated in reference to the Nazi offensive.