Ihor Zhovkva, adviser to Zelensky, on the end of the war: "We need weapons, weapons and weapons"

He thanks Spain for sending specialists to "collect evidence" of possible war crimes by Russia

He assures that the "price of increasing spending in other countries" makes the difference "between life and death"

MADRID, 31 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Ihor Zhovkva, political adviser and deputy director of the Cabinet of the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, stressed on Tuesday that Ukraine "will win the war", but has insisted on the need to obtain "weapons, weapons and more weapons" so that the Army can carry out its operations and "recover the country".

"What we need to carry out the counteroffensive in the Donbas region or to end our operations in Kharkov are weapons. To liberate Mariupol and Kherson (...) we need heavy weapons," he asserted during an event in Madrid organized by New Economy Forum.

"We need artillery systems, rockets, combat tanks and armored cars so that cities like Odessa feel armored", he stated before assuring that, in this sense, kyiv does not intend to "deprive any country of its own weapons", but He has emphasized that it is a "necessity" and has urged to increase the defense budgets of the different countries in order to defend Ukraine.

Thus, it has reiterated the importance of introducing sanctions, which "can only be imposed in a unified manner." For this reason, he has called for unity within the European Union, especially in view of the possible embargo on Russian oil and gas.

"You talk to us about unity but you need it to introduce sanctions, but a single country is playing with you and is blackmailing you," he lamented before stressing that the embargo "will come too late and after a very slow process." "It won't be enough," she has said.

In this sense, he warned that "every euro that is exchanged with Russia goes to the arms and military industry" in order to "kill Ukrainians, whether civilians or soldiers." "We never ask for anything that we don't know you are going to have. (...) We always ask for heavy weapons, and when (Pedro) Sánchez came to visit the country Zelenski spoke about this. We need more", he insisted before emphasizing that "Spain is a very valuable ally in this regard".

"The sanctions are very important but they must be directed at the Russian population and its economy, which is very strong because they have the so-called petrorubles. (...) Russia earns 1,000 million euros a day with the oil business," he has stated before to warn that the EU took almost a month to approve sanctions against Moscow.

In this regard, he stressed that "the price of increasing military spending in EU countries is related to the life or death of Ukrainian citizens" and pointed out that "when Russia sees that we do not have the strength to remove sanctions forward", Moscow "understands it as a victory".

In addition, he recalled the destruction caused by the Russian bombs and attacks on the territory and drew a parallel between the museums and emblematic buildings of Madrid and those of the main Ukrainian cities. "We don't have enough weapons to take back Mariupol or kick the Russians out of Donbas," she added.

Zhovkva stressed that Russia's war against Ukraine dates back to 2014, when "the invasion of Crimea began, which they tried to hide", as well as in Donbas, in the east of the country. "They said there were no Ukrainians there and they were talking about a peace mission," she pointed out.

In relation to the possible war crimes committed by the Russian forces in these areas, he clarified that "we have all seen what has happened in Bucha, but we must understand that many of the cities currently occupied will be liberated and we will be able to see what atrocities have committed in them".

The adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency has taken the opportunity to thank Spain for "sending specialists to gather information and possible evidence of this to then send it to the International Criminal Court or to a special court", in case a specific one is created. Likewise, he has asked that Justice be done and that "every responsible politician receive his corresponding punishment."

Zhovkva has affirmed that one of the country's main priorities is to achieve accession to the EU and has pointed out that kyiv has been "working on the association agreement" for five years. Likewise, she has defended that about 65 percent of the terms of said agreement had been implemented "successfully."

"My president cannot sit back and do nothing when the country yearns for a European future and wants to leave the Russian past behind," he asserted, while insisting that it is a "very important decision that (kyiv) hopes that resolved for the month of June".

"We hope that they will grant us the status of a candidate by then. This would be very important for Ukrainian citizens," said the 'number two' of Zelenski's Cabinet, who has maintained that if "another 27 countries have managed to meet the requirements to enter in the EU why wouldn't Ukraine get it".

On this matter, he declared that kyiv is "prepared to sell its energy surpluses" and asserted that the country "can meet all the requirements" to join the bloc given that "it is going to make reforms." "No one is perfect but we are going to try to be as perfect as possible," she added.

In relation to a possible division of the Ukrainian territory after the end of the conflict, he has responded forcefully and has shown his refusal: "these partition or pacification plans do not lead anywhere right now".

"Before the start of the war, Zelensky asked for preventive sanctions but Europe did nothing. He also asked for defensive weapons, thinking that perhaps Putin would think about it, but they did nothing either," he reproached, although he stressed that currently the Ukrainian forces have managed reclaim territory. "It is cynical to talk about dividing the territory because there are people in that territory. They are going to send them to concentration camps in Siberia to populate those areas with Russians," he defended.

Therefore, he continued, Ukraine's refusal "focuses on the battlefield." "When we win the war, because we are going to win it, we will have to sign an armistice with the defeated Russia and a diplomatic solution will have to be reached," she argued.

On the tragic situation of Ukrainian citizens who have to leave the country, he has asked that the refugees be called "guests" and has recognized that it is "difficult" to get them to return to Ukrainian territory at the moment. "It's difficult because you can't guarantee that it's 100 percent safe to be in any Ukrainian city," she lamented.

"But this has not prevented visits from taking place, such as Sánchez's," he added before accusing Russia of trying to block "any help that may reach the Ukrainians." "There is no longer a single completely safe place in the whole of Ukraine," she warned.