Zelensky: 'I want my country to stop being afraid when you hear a plane fly'
On his second day in Italy, the Ukrainian president met with a group of Italian editors and columnists, with the aim of sharing the story of his country at war for 925 days more directly with the public
6' min read
6' min read
In yet another night of war, Shahed drones woke up the inhabitants of Kiev shortly after three o'clock: the Iranian-made devices arrived in the very centre of the city, with the remains of the downed drones ending up in front of the entrance to the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Anti-aircraft fire went into action in 11 regions of the country: a very different noise from that caused by the Frecce Tricolori that flew over the Villa d'Este in Cernobbio on Saturday morning to 'greet' the Forum of The European House Ambrosetti. "I want to come back to this," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky remarked, "to no longer being afraid when you hear planes flying.
On his second day in Italy, which began in Cernobbio with an interview with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Zelensky met with a group of Italian editors and columnists precisely with the intention - as moderator Monica Maggioni recalled - of sharing the story of his country at war for 925 days more directly with the public. To recount this tragedy from the inside and explain the reasons for the decisions taken, the expectations for the future, the prospects for peace. The meeting, organised by Tg1, is available on RaiPlay.
The reasons for the raid on Kursk
.'With President Meloni,' Zelensky explained, shifting his gaze to the future, 'we talked about the preparations for the Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine that will take place next year in Rome: we want to prepare well, to develop concrete contents'. The present, however, is war: and an offensive on Russian territory that does not have the support of everyone in Italy. 'We have no problems with relations with Italy,' Zelensky explains in response to a question from Maurizio Molinari, editor of Repubblica. However, the president goes over the circumstances that led him to order Operation Kursk: 'It was a preventive attack. After the attempt to reach Kharkiv, we learned from the intelligence services that the Russians would attempt the occupation of Sumy, in the north of the country. Vladimir Putin had said he wanted to create a 'buffer zone', and we are talking about cities with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. We stopped them, we have the right to do so'.
Zelensky seems particularly eager to explain to the public the meaning of the incursion: 'Putin is not interested in how far the war will go,' he says in response to a question from Giuseppe De Bellis, director of Sky Tg24. With his weapons he has violated the borders of Poland, Moldavia, Romania, even Belarus, which is his ally. Like Hitler, he is trying to widen the war and watch how we react. If we do not respond, he will feel his hands are free. I appeal to the people: please analyse the way he has reacted to our advance. He is not protecting his territory, he is not defending his citizens, all he cares about is that everything is OK in Moscow and St Petersburg. His goal remains to destroy Ukraine. And reconstitute the Soviet Union, because he knows no one will stop him. In Europe, international law prevails, we meet to decide: and he takes advantage of these long times'.
Western weapons versus bombs
.The Ukrainian president compares the Kremlin's indifference to the fate of the inhabitants of Kursk - as well as the Ukrainian cities bombed - with the assurance that Kiev forces have never attacked civilian targets. And what they propose to do, by asking Europe and the United States for permission to use Western weapons on Russian territory, is to destroy the military bases from which the raids on Ukraine start. "We are not going to hit civilians, we are talking exclusively about military logistics. They use the airports to kill, they drop 4,000 bombs a month, knowing that they will land on cities and hospitals. We need the long-range weapons we ask for to stop the bombs."
