Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says African leaders who met him in June this year left Kyiv with credible information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
And Zelensky says although Ukraine is not as powerful and “does not brainwash nations” with disinformation, it will win the war.
Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema was among the six African leaders that met Zelensky in Kyiv this year before engaging Russia’s Vladmir Putin the next day, a move which Zelensky says armed the African leaders with credible information than the disinformation they were being fed with.
Picture Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine.
“Six African leaders came to Ukraine and I was happy to see them. They came with mixed emotions and mixed information about what was happening. But they all left Ukraine changed; they could see what Russia had done and the consequences of their shameful assault on the people and especially our children,” Zelensky said when he met a team of media representatives from different African countries. “They left for Russia with a better understanding of what Ukraine is fighting for … I am ready to visit any nation on the African continent and I’ll be happy to have a meeting with them … to make maximum efforts to achieve stability.”
He said Ukraine had politically sent signals of its efforts aimed at attaining freedom from Russia’s full scale invasion of his country.
“We will win this fight for freedom,” Zelensky affirmed.
In his comments on the stalemate, he said this was a frozen conflict which was “a sleeping volcano” that could erupt any time.
Zelensky said Ukraine had already lost many of its children fighting in the war and emphasized that the war must be stopped.
“We have buried more of our children already … do we have to have more children now so that we can also send them to fight this war and get killed?” he wondered. “We have to bring this war to an end. It may not be to someone’s liking but it has to end, it has to be done.”
Picture Credit: Office of the President of Ukraine.
And Zelensky expressed worry that the financial and military support from the United States and the European Union could be drying up owing to the blocking of financial aid by conservative Republicans in the US Congress as well as pro-Russia Hungary EU financial support, but now that any assistance is better than not having any at all.
His fears, however, are that that this reduced financial support could cause a crisis in his country in their efforts to provide basic services to Ukrainians.
Zelensky also said Ukraine required enhanced air defence systems to support its efforts to push back Russia because his country does not control the skies and “this delays our advance; It’s difficult but doable.”