For this, the main fear of the President of the Russian Federation must be exacerbated.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Vladimir Putin does not care about anything, except for his own life, for which threats can only be created by the Russians themselves. That is why international partners need to close borders for citizens of the Russian Federation, the head of state said in an interview with The Washington Post.
Answering a question about how to prevent the occupiers from holding a so-called “referendum” in the Kherson region, Zelenskyy noted that Western countries can “take strong and concrete steps” only by imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation. In his opinion, an effective restrictive measure can be a ban for all Russians from visiting European Union states.
“Good sanctions. I think they are very kind and peaceful. There is nothing in these sanctions that takes away property or human life. I said from the very beginning that, in my opinion, the most important sanctions are the closing of borders, because they (the Russians – ed.) are taking away someone else's territory. Let them live in their own world until they change their philosophy,” the president stressed.
According to him, the strongest sanctions against Russia are a full embargo on energy resources and closed borders. So far, the partners have not fully implemented such restrictive measures.
Read also: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a disappointing forecast regarding the cancellation of visas for Russians
“Everything is very simple: no matter who the citizens of the Russian Federation are – there are those who support and do not support this (invasion of Ukraine – ed.) – their children are there, studying abroad, in schools, universities, etc. Let them go to Russia. There is nothing wrong with that, let them go there. Not forever, please let them come back. Only then will they understand… You want that isolation, don't you? You tell the whole world that it will live by your rules. Okay, then go there and live there,” said the head of state.
Zelensky believes that only in this way will the world be able to influence Putin. After all, the president of the Russian Federation fears only for his life, which may be threatened by the residents of his own country.
“This person has no other fear than fear for his life. And his life depends on whether he is threatened by the internal population or not. Nothing threatens him anymore. So it is. Accordingly, when the population will put pressure on his decision, then there will be results. And the war will end,” emphasized the president of Ukraine.
He called on the states to close their borders to Russians for one year and see the result.
Read also: Baltic countries are determined not to let Russians into the EU
“These are very clear sanctions, they are very simple. They are not about money, not about gas or pipes, and not about the fact that the Germans will not have heat in winter,” added Volodymyr Zelenskyi.
During the interview, the head of state also told why Ukrainians did not warn about the preparation of an invasion by the Russian Federation back in October and what such a decision could lead to.
Related video
Earlier it was reported that after the statements of a number of European countries to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians, < strong>citizens of the Russian Federation fear that entry to Europe will be closed for them and are trying to prepare documents in advance.
See special topic: Ukrainians will receive 6 thousand aid from the Norwegian Refugee Council 20,000 families will receive financial support. Zelensky made an important request to the residents of Crimea He called on the residents of the peninsula and other occupied territories not to approach military facilities of the Russian Federation. The location of missile systems along the border on the side of Belarus is a cause for concern – Zaluzhnyi The enemy has increased shelling. Ukrainian military now controls almost half of Donetsk region – Kyrylenko Liman, Bakhmut, and Avdiiv directions remain the hottest areas. Rocket attack on Zhytomyr region: Russians attacked a military airfield The Russian army fired at the object from the territory of Belarus.
