Ukraine’s Zelensky says situation in Ukraine is no more tense than last year
The situation around Ukraine is no more tense than last year, but the media is creating the impression that “tanks are driving through the streets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Jan. 28 at a press conference with foreign journalists.
The meeting took place amid Russia’s military buildup near the borders of Ukraine and a looming threat of invasion.
Zelensky stressed that Ukrainian authorities do not see a greater escalation now than during previous Russian military buildups, such as in the spring of 2021, but said that media attention at the time was not the same.
“If the journalists want to understand what the situation is, let them go to Kyiv. Do we have tanks driving through the streets? No. But the feeling is like that,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said the media in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Lithuania gave the impression that Russian troops were already in Ukraine, that the army is mobilized, and that everyone was fleeing.
“This is not so, we don’t need this panic,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said there may be escalation in hostilities with Russia, but statements released by foreign partners that “there will be war will be tomorrow” negatively affect the Ukrainian economy.“
I told the president (Biden) – and I think that the United States has our backs – that I started talking to the leaders of the countries and explaining to them: we need to stabilize the economy,” he stated.
Zelensky and Biden had a phone call on Jan. 27, during which they discussed de-escalation efforts and the next diplomatic steps with regard to Russia.
The U.S.-based CNN TV news channel, citing a senior Ukrainian official, reported that a call between the two leaders “did not go well” amid disagreements over the “risk levels” of a Russian attack, though the White House has denied that interpretation of events.
According to the latest numbers the Ministry of Defense has provided Ukraine’s parliament, there are currently 130,000 Russian troops stationed near the Russian-Ukrainian border.
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