“The involvement of North Korean soldiers is a sign of “critical problems”, so it is necessary to maintain pressure on Russia, the president of Ukraine believes”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Putin is not only maintaining his investment in aggression, he is doubling it,” he said.
According to Zelenskyi, North Korea has lost 4,000 soldiers in Russia’s war against Ukraine as of now. At the same time, Pyongyang is gaining experience to, as the president suggests, “re-export” the war in the Indo-Pacific region.
“No ruler of Moscow would ever stoop to begging Pyongyang, this is possible only in the face of critical problems. Therefore, we need to maintain pressure on Russia. This ensures that our soldiers receive the weapons they need. That’s what sanctions are for,” Zelensky said.
Read also: Finland does not yet connect the incident in the Baltic Sea with any state body or other entity – MFA
Therefore, the head of state called on Ukraine’s partners, especially the United States and the European Union, to increase pressure on the Russian energy sector:
“Sanctions are needed against every element of the Russian energy industry, the Russian tanker fleet must be stopped. The Russian budget for 2025 is 25% larger than last year. If we want to stop the killings, we need to cut off Putin’s money flow. Putin will start thinking about peace only when his inner circle tells him that he has run out of money.”
The European Union in December 2024 threatened to introduce an additional package of sanctions against the so-called “shadow fleet” of Russia after another damage to an electric cable in the Baltic Sea and the detention of an oil tanker by the Finnish authorities. In particular, the bloc stressed that the vessels of the “shadow fleet” threaten security and the environment, while simultaneously financing Russia’s military budget.