People's Deputy of Ukraine, leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko, during a speech from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, called on deputies to do everything possible to strengthen the Armed Forces of Ukraine and prevent a reduction in their budget.
"We must not ask Putin to stop the war – this does not work with KGB agents. We must force him into peace, and for this, we must not be distracted by any other positions. Our demand is one – an immediate comprehensive ceasefire. This voice must come from Ukraine, united in a coalition of national unity. This voice must come from the partners. This voice must come from the Verkhovna Rada in order to strengthen the Armed Forces. And therefore, every hryvnia you withdraw from the budget of the Armed Forces is work for Putin. Strengthening the AFU is work for peace," Poroshenko said.
According to him, it is the AFU that is the main diplomat capable of forcing the leadership of Russia into a ceasefire.
"I believe in stopping the war, I believe in a ceasefire, because Putin is weakening. These are the successes of our diplomacy, because our main diplomat is the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And the main tactic and strategy of diplomacy is the diplomacy of drones. Confirmation of its effectiveness is the strike of our drones on Moscow, the disruption of the St. Petersburg forum, and the elimination of oil refineries. The second proof of Putin's weakening is the devastating loss this week in Armenia. Before that – the loss in Hungary, before that – the loss in Moldova.
If the columns around the perimeter are cracking, the foundation is cracking," the politician added.
European Solidarity demands the return of UAH 40 billion withdrawn from the Ministry of Defense budget for the purchase of weapons, a cut in all non-targeted expenditures in the budget, and the direction of the money toward increasing the financial allowance of the military.
