“Putin is a Political Animal Who Senses Fear”: Ukraine Calls on Partners to Stand Up to Russia

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, called on allies to not fear Russia, since it only makes it more aggressive:

“What we do need is for our partners to firmly believe that Ukraine’s victory is attainable and second, to have no fear towards Putin. Because Putin is a political animal, who can sense fear, and when he does, he becomes more aggressive. If he sees the strength, if he senses strength, as it was recently demonstrated by Congress, he will be forced to step back,” said Kuleba.

When asked about the US finally approving funding for Ukraine after months of stalling, in an interview with CNN on April 28, Dmytro Kuleba opened his first answer by saying: “It’s good to have America back”.

When asked about the most needed arms, the Minister stated that Ukraine needs all kinds of weapons: air defense to protect its cities and ammunition and artillery systems to liberate occupied Ukrainian territories.

Dmytro Kuleba added that no Patriot batteries were announced by the US and that Ukraine will keep working on mobilizing Patriot systems from other countries, adding that it’s crucial for Ukraine’s allies to not fear Russia.

Previously, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine needs 25 Patriot systems to cover all of Ukraine. But Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told The Washington Post in an interview that Ukraine will focus now on obtaining 7 Patriot systems as quickly as possible. As of now, Germany has offered to send one more Patriot system to Ukraine, leaving Ukraine on a journey to find at least 6 more systems to protect its civilians and infrastructure.

On Tuesday evening, April 23, the US Senate voted in favor of sending $95 billion in military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with almost $61 billion going to Ukraine.