Defense minister calls Russia enemy, says financial, economic relations impossible with it

13:51, 14.11.2019 1 min read

Russia is Ukraine's enemy, with which no financial and economic relations are possible, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zahorodniuk wrote on Facebook.

"To put it briefly, I clearly realized back in 2014 that the enemy's name consists of six letters – Russia. They are not 'militia' or 'local police', but ranking servicemen from the Russian Federation. It became even clearer during those awful events in Illovaisk," Zahorodniuk said, commenting on his interview for Army FM.

It is possible to speak to the enemy "either with the language of weapons or with the language of experienced diplomats," he said.

No financial and economic relations are possible with Russia, Zahorodniuk said. Ukraine, for its part, ought to do all it can to move toward full-fledged integration with NATO at all levels, he said,

"As defense minister, I am not just keeping my spotlight on this. It's my life," Zahorodniuk said.