Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kolba, Sent a clear message to Western leaders that they must not make concessions at the expense of Ukraine in order to appease the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. “We sacrificed a lot so we could determine our own destiny,” he said in an exclusive interview with CNN.
“If anyone makes any concession to Ukraine, behind the back of Ukraine, we will not accept it,” Kolba clarified to reporter Clarissa Ward. “We will not be in the position of a country that picks up the phone, listens to its own guidelines and acts on them.” Kolba added that “we have paid a lot – including the lives of 15,000 of our citizens – to secure the right to determine our own future, our own destiny.”
Russian tanks near the border with Ukraine (Photo: Reuters)
The most senior Ukrainian diplomat stressed that despite the words of the US President, Joe Biden, That the reaction to the “small intrusion” of the Russians would not lead to a severe reaction – a statement which Biden later withdrew from it – he has no doubt that the American administration is committed to helping Ukraine defend itself. “First, President Biden himself is committed to Ukraine. He knows the country and he does not want Russia to destroy it,” he noted.
“Second, we have heard this from senior US officials, who have spoken openly with the media, but also spoken to me and other Ukrainian officials over the phone, that the US will remain fully committed to cutting Russia if any kind of intrusion, invasion or intervention occurs,” Kolba added.