Ukraine's president lashes out at too much 'panic' over Russia tensions
India Today
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Ukraine was not a sinking Titanic and accused Washington and media of fuelling panic.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday did not rule out a full-blown war with Russia but said Ukraine was not a sinking Titanic and accused Washington and media of fuelling panic that weighed on the economy while there were "no tanks in the streets".
He spoke after Russian President Vladimir Putin said the United States and NATO had not addressed https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/we-dont-want-wars-russia-sends-less-hawkish-message-ukraine-2022-01-28 the Kremlin's main security demands in the East-West standoff over Ukraine, but that Moscow was ready to keep talking.
Speaking at a news conference for foreign media, Zelenskiy said: "There are no tanks in the streets. But media give the impression, if one is not here, that we have a war, that we have army in the streets... That's not the case. We don't need this panic."
"I don't consider the situation now more tense than before," he said, but added: "I am not saying an escalation is not possible."
He said the White House was making a "mistake" in highlighting excessively the risk of a large-scale war, and that this was the message he gave U.S. President Joe Biden in their phone call on Thursday.
While he said Russia was trying to intimidate and destabilise Ukraine, Kyiv was propping up its hryvnia currency with FX reserves, as well as seeking military, political and economic support from the West.
He said the country needed 4-5 billion dollars to stabilise its economy, including through foreign investments, welcoming a 1.2 billion euros aid package from the European Union.
