Ukrainian Foreign Minister on »Anne Will«: »..., then we will fight with shovels«

Enlarge image

Dmytro Kuleba (on May 12 in Berlin)

Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP

Even in the event of an end to western arms supplies, Ukraine would continue to fight against Russia.

"If we don't get weapons, all right, then we will fight with shovels, but we will defend ourselves because this war is a war for our existence," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in English on the ARD talk show "Anne Will «.

“So the sooner we get weapons, the sooner they are sent, the greater the help to us.

If weapons are sent later, we will still say 'thank you', but then a lot will be wasted, many people will have died.«

Kuleba stressed that no one in the West should believe that Ukraine would be more willing to make concessions without arms deliveries.

He added: "The later they send us the weapons, the more people will die beforehand and the more people will fall victim to Russian atrocities and more Ukrainian territory will be conquered by the Russians."

Kuleba said his country has significantly fewer weapons than Russia.

"We can't win the war with such an imbalance." In the past few days, the Russians alone have fired a thousand rockets at targets in Ukraine.

That's why his country also needs air defense systems.

The war with Russia is now an artillery war, Kuleba said.

The Russian troops would outnumber artillery by 15:1.

That is why Ukraine urgently needs weapons such as artillery systems, anti-aircraft devices and missile systems.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also a guest at »Anne Will«.

She defended her proposal to grant Ukraine candidate status to the European Union.

"Ukraine has made enormous strides forward," she said, also speaking of a "moral obligation" to support the country during this time.

Ukraine is a robust, parliamentary democracy, said von der Leyen.

But she also emphasized from the perspective of the EU: "We want to see more reforms." This applies, for example, to more rule of law, the fight against corruption and oligarchs.

aar/dpa