In an interview with Fox News on February 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he did not want to repeat the Minsk agreements, while acknowledging that Russia had air superiority.
The IMF is about to disburse $880 million in funding to Ukraine, as the conflict between the country and Russia enters its third year. (Source: Getty Images) |
The Ukrainian leader stated: “It is not only a matter of territory, but also of our security. My signal is… no desire to repeat the Minsk agreements… There is no new frozen conflict, we do not believe in that… It is not a stalemate.”
The head of state of Ukraine admitted the fact that things in the East "are very complicated, there is a lack of certain types of weapons, while Russia has air superiority and superiority in manpower."
President Zelensky stressed that southern Ukraine is a very important area that needs to be protected and that there will be some "surprises" for Russia in the Black Sea, but did not go into details.
The Minsk Agreement, negotiated by Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in 2014-2015, stipulates a series of measures to end the armed conflict between the government in Kiev and the separatist regions in the east.
Moscow has repeatedly criticized Kiev for failing to implement the deal, including failing to grant autonomy to the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbass region.
In another development related to the aid situation in Ukraine, on the same day, AFP reported that a representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it would disburse 880 million USD to finance Kiev, in the third phase of the 15.6 billion USD aid package approved last year.
The aid, announced nearly two years after Russia launched its extraordinary military operation in Ukraine, still needs to be approved by the IMF's executive board.
The IMF said Ukraine's government "met all but one of the quantitative performance criteria – a small shortfall in tax revenue due to border closures – and all four of the structural criteria that need to be considered".
According to the IMF, Ukraine will need up to $486 billion to rebuild after the war.
Source
Comment (0)