Ukrainian president says his country’s accession will strengthen NATO

Kiev, Jun. 15, (dpa/GNA) – Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has once again called for his country to join NATO quickly, against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression.

Zelensky said he spoke with Poland’s president Andrzej Duda on Wednesday about the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

“This is exactly the moment when Russian assumptions that someone in NATO is still afraid of Rus

“Such assumptions fuel Russia’s aggressive ambitions. We must and can neutralize them.”

Ukraine’s accession to NATO would strengthen the organization, he explained.

Zelensky also spoke about preparations for a Ukraine reconstruction conference in London. He said that his concern is to rebuild every ruin in his country.

“When the ruins disappear, it’s not just the aggressor who loses, but the very idea of aggression,” he said.

He again criticized the lack of enforcement of sanctions against Russia, drawing attention to a Russian missile strike on the port city of Odessa. Many components of these missiles came from other countries, he said. If the sanctions were consistently enforced, Russia would no longer be able to fire on Ukraine, he argued.

GNA