Russia’s anti-European actions require not only military but also political consolidation – Zelensky

That’s according to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who addressed the European Council on Thursday, Ukrinform reports.

“This year, we must use Russian assets to protect and restore life in Ukraine. This is only fair when both the profits and the assets themselves will serve to rebuild Ukraine, support it, and, in part, buy weapons. Russia must feel the real cost of war and the need for just peace,” Zelensky said.

He noted that any loss in trade means loss of resources that are stopping Russia.

“I propose that we also look at this from an economic perspective,” Zelensky noted, adding that Ukraine’s every word is backed by facts. He cited the examples of the agricultural sectors of Spain and Italy, for whom Ukrainian cereals are of critical importance. Also, Romania needs Ukrainian sugar, the president noted, adding that more such facts can be put forward.

“Over the past year, we have done and are now doing everything to restore the normal volume of our food exports from the ports of Odesa, as well as through the Danube region and Romanian ports,” Zelensky said.

He recalled that Ukraine had once again become a “donor of food security” for its traditional export destinations – North Africa and Asia. According to the president, Europe will benefit from all of this – from cooperation with Ukraine and from the latter’s economic opportunities that stabilize parts of the world neighboring Europe.

“We see that, unfortunately, Russia's access to the European agricultural market remains unrestricted. When Ukrainian grain is thrown onto roads or railway tracks, Russian products, as well as goods from Putin's controlled Belarus, continue to be sent to Europe. This is not fair. It is even more unfair when someone tries to break down systemic trade solutions that have been in place for years and work for the strength of the entire Europe,” Zelensky said.

He stressed that “attempts of trade separatism” in Europe weaken the entire continent.

As reported earlier, since February 9, Polish farmers have been holding protests on the roads leading to the checkpoints at the border with Ukraine. Their main demands include a ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products and Poland's withdrawal from the European Green Deal.

During the protests, there were five cases where Ukrainian agriproducts were dumped from freight cars onto the rail tracks or from trucks onto the roads.