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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European countries that continue to buy Russian oil of “making money with the blood of other people.”
In an interview with the BBC, President Zelensky singled out Germany and Hungary, accusing them of blocking efforts to embargo energy sales, of which Russia will reach 250 250 billion ($ 326 billion) this year.
There has been growing frustration among Ukraine’s leadership with Berlin, which has backed some sanctions against Russia but has so far resisted calls to support tougher action on oil sales.
“Some of our friends and partners understand that now is another time, that it is no longer a matter of business and money, but a matter of survival,” Zelensky told the BBC.
The president also reiterated calls for more arms supplies to Ukraine, saying they were not receiving supplies fast enough to avert Russia’s attack.
“The United States, the United Kingdom, some European countries – are trying to help and are helping us,” he said. “But we still need faster, faster and faster, that’s the key word now.”
Russian troops in recent weeks have withdrawn from Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, and other central and northern parts of the country – apparently abandoning an attempt to occupy all of Ukraine.
But now there are fears of a bloody and protracted conflict in the east and south of the country as Russian President Vladimir Putin refocuses his military campaign there in an effort to occupy more territory.
The southern port city of Mariupol – a strategic target for President Putin – has already been devastated by weeks of Russian artillery bombardment.
President Zelensky told the BBC he thought tens of thousands could have been killed in the city.
“We also have information that, in addition to the tens of thousands of dead, many have disappeared,” he said.
“We know that their documents have been replaced, they have been given Russian passports and sent to Russia – some in camps, some in other cities. No one knows what is going on with those people. “No one knows how many were killed.”
Zelensky said the atrocities apparently committed by Russian troops in Mariupol and on the outskirts of Kiev, Bucha and Borodyanka, had further limited the possibility of peace talks with the Russians.
He accused President Putin and the rest of the Russian military of being “war criminals.”
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