Dmytro Kuleba terms key factors for Kyiv's victory against Moscow, 'Sanctions, weapons...'

On May 2, Ukraine's Foreign Minister identified three factors that will determine Ukraine's victory in the war. Dmytro Kuleba stated that the key factors that impact Ukraine's victory in the war are sanctions, weapons assistance, and the country's approach to EU membership. According to European Pravda, he stated this during a joint press conference in Kyiv with his Danish counterpart, Jeppe Kofod.

"There are three issues on which victory in this war depends - sanctions, weapons and the prospect of Ukraine's membership in the European Union," Dmytro Kuleba explained.

He stated that sanctions against Russia "should not be taboo," and thanked Denmark for agreeing with him, as well as for doing "everything in its power" to provide weapons, both bilaterally and collectively. The Foreign Minister emphasised the issue of future EU membership, noting that Europe's decision to grant or deny Ukraine membership will send an important signal to the Kremlin.

He went on to say that the war against Ukraine and the rest of Europe will continue as long as Putin believes Ukraine is at a fork in the road. As a result, the EU must continue on the path it set after February 24 by promoting Ukraine's European integration as much as possible. According to Kuleba, he has the status of a candidate for EU membership. "The question of Ukraine's EU membership is literally a matter of war and peace in Europe," he concluded.

Russia-Ukraine War

On Monday, humanitarian organisations attempted to evacuate more citizens from Mariupol, Ukraine's devastated port city, but hundreds of people remained trapped in the Azovstal steelworks, the final bastion of resistance to Russia's siege. However, as soon as the buses had departed the steelworks, Russian forces resumed shelling, according to a local official, AP reported.

Russia has reportedly re-deployed part of its forces from Mariupol to join its operation in the east, according to the Ukrainian military. On Monday, the Ukrainian army's General Staff announced that numerous Russian battalions had been dispatched from Mariupol to Popasna in the eastern Luhansk region. Moreover, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, tried to put more pressure on the European Union on Sunday by demanding that the next round of sanctions against Russia include an oil embargo.

Image: AP