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Riding a train from Sumy to Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – A team of Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine, visit the southeastern city of Zaporizhia, which faces regular shelling from Russian forces. I traveled with the President by train for two days. , a town in the northern part of the Sumy region that was liberated shortly after the war began a year ago.
The AP is the first news agency to travel extensively with Zelensky since the war began. Here are some highlights from an interview with Zelensky. He returned to Kiev late Tuesday.
western weapons
Throughout much of the war, Ukraine’s armed forces have been bolstered by billions of dollars of ammunition and weapons from Western countries. Zelensky welcomed the help, but said some of the promised weapons had not yet been delivered.
“We made a great decision with the Patriots.but we don’t really have them,” he said, referring to US-made air defense systems.
Ukrainian soldiers have been trained in the United States on how to use the Patriot system since January, but have not yet deployed in Ukraine.
Ukraine needs 20 Patriot batteries to defend itself against Russian missiles, but that may not be enough “because no country in the world has been hit by so many ballistic rockets,” Zelensky said. Stated.
Zelensky added that a European country sent another air defense system to Ukraine, but it did not work and “had to be changed again and again.” He didn’t name the country.
Zelensky also reiterated his longstanding demand for fighter jets, saying, “As for modern fighter planes, we don’t have any yet.” However, so far the West has not agreed to provide modern fighter jets, amid concerns it could escalate and draw the conflict deeper.
Putin’s isolation
Zelensky was generous in his assessment of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, calling him an “informationally isolated man” who “lost everything” in last year’s war.
“He has no allies,” Zelensky said, adding that even China, an economic powerhouse that has long favored Russia, is clearly no longer willing to support Russia.Chinese President Xi Jinping recently visited President Putin n Russia left without publicly announcing its overt support for Moscow’s campaign against Ukraine.
Zelensky suggested that Putin announced the transfer of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus shortly after Xi’s visit.close to NATO territory, was meant to distract from the fact that the Chinese leader’s visit did not go well. said to be against Ammunition to Ukraine.
Despite Putin’s nuclear provocations, Zelensky said he did not believe the Russian leader was ready to use the atomic bomb.
“If a person wants to save himself, he really…uses these,” he said. “I don’t know if he’s ready to do that.”
Avoiding a nuclear disaster
Zelensky’s itinerary this week included a meeting with Rafael Mariano Grossi, Head of Visits of the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency. Grossi was in the region to monitor the situation at the nearby Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which Russia took control of last year.
Intense fighting around Europe’s largest power station has put the facility and the wider area in grave danger. Speaking to Zelenskiy on Monday, Grossi said the situation was not improving.
Grossi called for a “protected zone” around the plant, but failed to offer terms that would satisfy both Ukraine and Russia. Grossi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he believes a deal is “close.” But Zelensky, who opposes any plans to justify Russian control over the facility, said he was not optimistic that a deal was near. “I don’t feel it today,” he said.
battle for bahmut
In the eastern city of Bahmut, the longest battle of the war is raging, There, Ukrainian and Russian forces have been involved in a bitter conflict for seven months.
Some Western military analysts have argued that the city is of no strategic importance, questioning why Ukraine is willing to take so many losses to defend its territory. argued otherwise, saying that losing the war would give Russia a chance. He predicted that if Russia defeated Ukraine in Bakhmut, Putin would set out to “sell” the victory to the international community.
“If he feels the blood or if we feel weak, he pushes, pushes,” Zelensky said, adding that the pressure would come not only from the international community but also from within his own country. added.
“Our society will feel weary,” he said. “Our society pushes me to compromise with them.”
Zelenskyy recently traveled near Bahmut and visited the fighting troops in the hard-hit city to boost morale.
Calls for tougher sanctions
Zelensky called for broader measures against Putin’s inner circle.
More than 30 countries, representing more than half of the global economy, have imposed sanctions on Russia, including price caps on Russian oil and restrictions on access to global financial transactions. Western powers have also imposed direct sanctions on some 2,000 Russian companies, government officials, oligarchs and their families. More than $58 billion of sanctioned Russian assets have been blocked or frozen around the world, according to a recent US Treasury report.
Zelensky said more should be done to target Putin’s enablers. Real estate, yachts everywhere.
ride on rails
Most of Zelensky’s travels in Ukraine are by rail. There are few other options. Travel by commercial aviation has been suspended, and the vastness of Ukraine and the unpredictability of life in the war-torn country make travel by car difficult.
However, the state’s rail system has remained remarkably stable throughout the war and is largely unaffected by the constant barrage of Russian missiles. There is one notable exception. A bombing at the crowded Kramatorsk railway station in April 2022 killed dozens.
Zelensky is on a train set aside for him and his delegation, which in appearance is almost indistinguishable from the blue-and-yellow trains carrying other people and goods across the country. No. Most Ukrainians barely looked up as Zelensky’s train sped through rural towns, past picturesque fields and the occasional bombed-out buildings and bridges.
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Karl Ritter, an AP writer in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
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