"That part of society in the countries that supports Putin does not fully understand what war is, they do not feel it firsthand. I would like to ask you: if yesterday in
Odessa when the ballistic missile attack took place, it was not the Greek prime minister who had been there but the Italian prime minister? If Giorgia Meloni had been there, what would your people have said?", asked the Ukrainian president.
interviewed by Bruno Vespa on 'Five minutes', broadcast this evening on Rai1.
"Would this part of Italian society that does not support Ukraine and supports Putin have remained indifferent? I don't think so," he added.
Referring to the Russian missile attack on Odessa, Zelensky said: "We were with the Greek prime minister, it was an official visit and 300 meters away there was a missile hit, the sirens sounded only afterwards. I don't know who they wanted to hit, it's an incredible thing. I'm not talking about me, but about the leader of another state. The Greek prime minister was very surprised, but I wasn't. I understand that Putin won't stop. It's difficult to say what they wanted to hit."
And as for his relationship with Italy, the Ukrainian president said: "First of all, I thank Giorgia Meloni very much, we have a very strong relationship. From a human and economic point of view, our countries have an excellent relationship and very stable, there is concrete support" from a "humanitarian" point of view and "for our European future. I am very happy with our relations and I am grateful to the Italian people who are very supportive of Meloni and Ukraine".
"Giorgia is not alone like Italy" in supporting Kiev, "one country alone cannot help Ukraine so that there is an effective defense against the Russians. We are dealing with a terrorist country, therefore Meloni, Sunak, Macron, Scholz, US President Biden, the aid of these countries, of the G7 and of all the other countries and our friends is necessary and very important to defend international law and human rights, of the choice in which state to live and whether to go towards Europe and not towards Russia. I stand with my people in this," Zelensky said.
'A truce means freezing the conflict'
"I believe that a truce in the war is a very difficult challenge for us. It is a big problem for Ukraine and for its future and it is a big problem for all of Europe. We have already had this problem after the occupation of Crimea and Donesk. It is the frozen conflict and we have already seen it. This pause is not for the war but it is a pause for Putin, he needs it, it is a fact to strengthen himself", underlined the Ukrainian president to 'Five Minutes'.
"Ukrainians pay a very big price today, we lose the military but we are hoping that our partners understand this and support us, understand that we are paying such a high price and that the leaders and peoples understand that if Ukraine falls Russia will go forward and will certainly attack the NATO countries, and Italy is one of these countries" said Zelensky.
'Putin's goal is to annex all of Ukraine'
Asked about the Kremlin's strategy, the Ukrainian president said: "I don't think Putin's goal is the conquest of territories: what we are seeing are blows against civilians and terror against the Ukrainian population. Their messages tell us that their goal is not some territories but is to annex all of Ukraine'.
"Putin is trying to get supplies in Iran and North Korea, he has a shortage of ammunition. The Russians need a break: many of their soldiers have been killed, we see it from the prisoners that the contingent that comes to us to fight does not have a preparation more than a month. They need to prepare enlisted men and officers," Zelensky added,
"Already in 2014 - he explained - the frozen conflict allowed him to strengthen himself and then start a large-scale war".
"Putin wants to destroy - claims Zelensky - Ukraine, annex it to Russia, and he is doing it with violence or with political instruments as he did with Belarus. There have been no victims there for now. Putin is controlling everything there, also the police and the military with a diplomatic occupation of a sovereign state. In Ukraine, in a political way he was unable to do it, in the Parliament there was his party and it was the second. He hoped for it, but there was no he succeeded. So after the failure of that political plan he decided to occupy us militarily. There is no plan on the territories: it's just rhetoric. Putin wants to deprive Ukraine of its independence."
'With the right weapons we would change the fate of the war'
"If we had modern weapons, corresponding to the Russian ones, we could change the fate of the war", underlined the Ukrainian president, according to whom "with the appropriate weapons we could respond to the Russian forces who are using long-range weapons on our cities like Kherson. With longer range weapons we could push them further away."
"We have promised not to use" the long-range German Taurus missiles "on territories other than those occupied by the Russians in Ukraine. We lack ammunition of various types and when you have a deficit like this our aim is to liberate our lands and thus end the war," he added.
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