Economic sanctions will not stop Russia, but "unity of the Ukrainian people" can – first deputy head of Zelenskyy's Office

Serhii Kyslytsia, First Deputy Head of the Office of the President, has stated that sanctions will not stop Russia's economic activity, and the greatest factor of influence is the unity of the Ukrainian people, which Russia wants to split apart in winter.

Source: Kyslytsia in an interview with Ukrinform

Quote: "Economic sanctions are making life for Russians increasingly uncomfortable, but they are not stopping economic activity inside Russia… This will sound very grand, but the greatest factor of influence on Putin is the unity of the Ukrainian people."

Details: Kyslytsia made the comments while responding to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's assertion that Washington and Beijing can force Russia to "want peace". The deputy head of the Office of the President noted that Russia can still continue the war for a long time, despite the number of human casualties on its side and economic problems.

"There are countries that buy more than half of Russian oil. And just last year, Russia traded oil worth more than US$40 billion with one country alone. There are countries that help circumvent sanctions… And let us remember the Soviet Union. You may know that the USSR did not have, excuse me, toilet paper, but satellites, including military ones, were being launched into space," Kyslytsia said.

Kyslytsia believes the unity of the Ukrainian people can exert the greatest influence on Russia, since Russia's strategy for the autumn-winter period is built on splitting Ukrainian society, which would also lead to dissatisfaction with the authorities.

"He (Putin – ed.) has the sense to look at the things that happened in history, including the history of Russia, Ukraine and Europe in the 20th century… Remind your readers why Ukraine lost its chance to build an independent state in the 1920s, and after that came the destruction of the Ukrainian people… So Putin is not inventing anything new. What he is doing by destroying Ukrainian energy – this too happened recently in Europe," Kyslytsia said.

Background: During the same interview, Kyslytsia also stated that Putin does not want negotiations because he believes Ukrainians will not survive the winter. He added, however, that Ukraine is still seeking diplomatic ways to end the war as well.

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