According to the President of Ukraine, Russian citizens "should live in their own world until they change their philosophy"
WASHINGTON, August 9. /tass/. Western countries should ban all Russians from entering their territory, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky believes. He expressed this opinion in an interview published on Monday with The Washington Post.
According to Zelensky, "the most important sanctions are the closure of borders, because the Russians are taking away land that belongs to someone else." Therefore, they "must live in their own world until they change their philosophy," he says. From Zelensky's point of view, this measure should apply even to those citizens of the Russian Federation who left the country in protest against the actions of the authorities. "Whatever the Russians are <...>, send them to Russia," he added.
From Zelensky's point of view, it is possible to "call to account the entire population" of Russia. "This population has chosen this government, and they do not fight with it, do not argue with it, do not shout at it," he said. The President of Ukraine also called the sanctions already imposed against Russia "weak" compared to the closure of borders for Russians for one year and the introduction of a full embargo on purchases of Russian energy carriers.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in connection with the request of the leaders of the republics of Donbass for help. He stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories, and the goals are demilitarization and denazification of the country. The West, in response to Russia's decision, began gradually imposing numerous and large-scale sanctions against it. Along with this, Western states have begun to supply weapons and military equipment to Kiev for amounts estimated at this stage in the tens of billions of dollars.
A number of Western politicians have admitted that it is, in fact, an economic war against Russia. As Putin stated on March 16, the Western sanctions policy towards Moscow has all the signs of aggression. He pointed out that the policy of containing Russia is a long-term strategy of the West.
