JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged that the aid that Western countries provide to his country comes at a price and is not free to deal with the Russian invasion.
America and a number of allied countries are known to provide a lot of assistance to Ukraine, including aid in military facilities and infrastructure to deal with the Russian invasion.
The assistance provided ranged from weapons, helmets to bulletproof vests needed by the Ukrainian fighters. Apart from the US and Western countries, aid also came from Asia, such as Japan which sent bulletproof vests and military helmets.
"The money allocated by Europe and other countries is spent only on humanitarian aid or weapons," said President Zelenskiy, as reported by TASS on March 14.
"Sometimes we receive weapons directly, but you have to understand that everything has a price," he explained.
"Every time the money we get is mentioned, well, everything is paid for, it's not free," continued President Zelenskiy.
In late February, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky asked the European Union to let his country join the union immediately. Ukraine's application for EU membership under expedited procedures has been received, registered, and is being considered, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrey Yermak said on March 1.
Meanwhile, EU heads of state and government, gathered for an informal summit in France's Versailles, expressed their solidarity with Ukraine in a joint statement, but did not grant candidate status to Kyiv.
According to the latest statement, the EU will continue to strengthen its relations with Ukraine, which belongs to the 'European family'. However, according to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU could take months or even years.
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Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky also said that both Russia and the West should provide security guarantees to their countries.
"Apart from the Russian Federation, security guarantees must also be provided by other leaders," he said.
Furthermore, the Ukrainian president also explained that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does not offer protection to his country.
"What we need right now are not words, but security guarantees from countries and state unions that are able to provide them. We don't want to start another war," said President Zelenskiy.
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