Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov, commenting on the statement of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky about the lack of funds for the maintenance of the army, said that the country "does not need an army."
On the eve of June 2, Vladimir Zelensky said that the completion of the construction of the Nord Stream — 2 gas pipeline will deprive Ukraine of about $3 billion, which is why the country will allegedly have no funds left for the maintenance of the army.
"Ukraine will be much better off without the army. The shelling of Donbass will stop. Young Ukrainians will stop dying. Illusions about the return of the Crimea will disappear. And Kiev will not drag NATO into a military crisis with Russia. Ukraine simply does not need an army," the Russian senator said in a message posted on his Twitter page.
On May 31, in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Zelensky said that Nord Stream 2 is the main trump card that Moscow can play against Kiev. He noted that the completion of the project will lead to the fact that Russia will sooner or later refuse to transit gas to Europe through the territory of Ukraine, which will affect the country's income.
In turn, the Kremlin stressed that Russia does not intend to abandon gas supplies through Ukraine, as in the future the country expects an increase in gas transit to Europe. According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, Ukraine, as the owner of the gas transmission system, must ensure its normal technical condition.
Nord Stream 2 is being built from Russia to Germany along the bottom of the Baltic Sea with the aim of direct and reliable gas supplies to Europe. The EU countries mainly support the project and participate in its implementation. The Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine and the United States are against it.
