Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed for “strong sanctions” against Moscow as he heads to New York this week where he expects to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Russia must feel the consequences of what it is doing. Sufficient counteraction is needed to force them to seek peace,” Zelenskyy said on social media on Sunday. “Strong sanctions are an instrument that will stop” Russia becoming a threat to EU countries, he said.
Ukraine is defending itself from Russian attacks “almost every day,” the Ukrainian president said. Thousands of foreign components have been found in Russian weapons — coming for Europe, the United States and Japan, he added.
“We must cut off all possible supply routes and means of evading sanctions,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader is expecting to meet with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, where he will seek clarifications on what security guarantees the U.S. is willing to provide as part of a peace settlement.
The call for stronger sanctions comes after EU and NATO countries saw their national airspace violated by Moscow. At least 20 Russian drones made it into Poland earlier this month, in what the country called a Russian provocation. Three Russian fighter jets made an incursion into Estonia on Friday which the country called “an extremely dangerous provocation.”
The European Commission presented a new package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, which included measures on more Chinese and Indian entities. The package still needs the approval of the EU governments.
“We count on the 19th EU sanctions package to be truly painful, and on the United States to join the Europeans,” Zelenskyy said in Sunday’s social media post.
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