Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova on Sunday said that the country is “not ready to give up our territories,” adding that if they are unsuccessful in the war “brutality, oligarchy, and war criminals” will prevail.
“Well, there is no independent republics on the territory of Ukraine. Russia attacked us in 2014. Russia illegally occupied Crimea and part of Donetsk and Luhansk,” she told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“Russia illegally waged a full-fledged war on the independent country now. And the question is bigger than that: can anyone – if there is a respectful sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a firm basis for any U.N. charter or any international organization.”
She added, “So I think we shouldn’t ask Ukraine what we are ready to give up in order for Russia to stop this aggression. All of us should be asking each, ‘What are we prepared to do to stop it?’ If Ukraine loses it, it’s not only Ukraine’s loss, it means that brutality, oligarchy, and war criminals prevail on our planet.”
“The besieged Mariupol will go down in history of responsibility for war crimes. The terror the occupiers did to the peaceful city will be remembered for centuries to come,” Zelenskyy said in a video address onTelegram.
The war has also forced millions of people to leave their homes. Last week, the US announced a plan to welcome 100,000 refugees into the country. During the “Meet The Press” interview, moderator Chuck Todd asked Markarova: “Is that enough?”
“We already see more than 3.6 million refugees in Europe, everywhere. It’s mostly women and children and the majority of them want to go back,” Markarova responded. “The focus for us is sanctions [and] weapons so we can stop Putin and start rebuilding Ukraine. But of course, we are grateful for everyone and I’m glad the US is joining the group of countries that are not only helping us a lot with weapons and sanctions but also opening the doors for Ukrainians.”
Markarova added: “Whether it’s going to be enough or not depends on how quickly we all act to stop the war. Let’s focus on that. Let’s stop the war so that there will not be more refugees.”
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