Ukrainian member of Parliament Oleksandra Ustinova said that the West isn't doing enough to hit back against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, but that it never has from the very beginning.
She explained that Vladimir Putin is a "psychopath" who isn't afraid to make good on his recent threats of a nuclear attack and World War III if it means he can take whatever land he wants. Thus far, she said, the West has allowed Putin to operate however he wants with little regard for eastern Europe. Now, the situation is so dire that the West must be willing to make serious efforts to fight back, even if it means inconveniencing Americans' lives.
"Only Vladimir Putin knows what he is real about," Ustinova said to CNN. "And the one thing I can say, if he wants to do something, he is going to do that because Ukraine was a neutral country in 2014 when we were invaded. We didn't do anything to provoke him a week ago and it's a total destruction. Our cities are being burned to ash, as you can see there. And that's just because he wanted to do it, no matter how far the West, the European, United States and NATO let him go."
Ustinova explained that Europe and America must be willing to take significant steps to combat Putin that extends beyond the initial sanctions. While what has been done is severe enough to have crashed the Russian stock markets, currency and economy, she suggested there were still ways to hit back harder. It may mean, however, mean making Americans pay more at the pump.
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"So, first of all, Vladimir Putin is a psycho," said Ustinova. "We should be clear about that. And he will be going as far as we let him go. As the United States, NATO, EU would let him go. He is a bully that keeps saying, I have arms, I have nuclear weapons, and I can do whatever I want to do, and he doesn't need a provocation for that. He basically believes he can do anything, and that's what he has been doing so far in the world."
Describing him as a kind of authoritarian Eric Cartman-style leader, she noted that when Putin invaded Georgia, there was no response from the global community. When he invaded part of Moldova, the West turned their backs. When Crimea was annexed, all Putin got was a slap on the wrist.
"Right now there is a public execution of Ukrainians in front of the whole world by Russian missiles, Russian airplanes, by the Russians," she continued. "And we have been begging to protect our sky. We're not asking you to fight for us. We're just asking for technical protection of the sky. We're asking for stronger sanctions. And unfortunately, even here the world has to go into compromise and they would put sanctions on Russia but exclude the energy sector out. And that's what is keeps Putin and his army [funded]. They turn off S.W.I.F.T. only for seven banks out of 300 banks in Russia. Those are partial sanctions. And Putin understands that he can go as far as he wants, even in the financial sector, there is not enough reaction."
To enforce a no-fly zone means that countries with air force must help patrol the skies of Ukraine from Putin's air attacks.
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"How many deaths do you need to see on TV to do that?" she asked. "So far we have more than 2,000 people killed. And to be honest, in the '90s, Ukraine was a nuclear country. We gave up our nuclear weapons and we were promised by three countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia, that they will keep our sovereignty, and in case anything happens to Ukraine, we will have the protection. Now we hear the same about the NATO countries. I can tell you the NATO countries are not so sure about -- especially the Baltic countries, Poland. They are not sure they will have the protection because we were given protection when we gave up our nuclear protection and we don't have it. We are being executed in front of the whole world. 24/7 you turn on the TV and you see Ukrainians die. Children die. Preschool with vacuum bombs. After that, we keep asking, we had a promise, we had a treaty that we will have the protection. We're not asking American soldiers, German soldiers to come and protect us on the land. Give us the weapons to fight in the air, to protect the air. That's what the no-fly zone is about."
Ustinova went on to say that if Ukraine falls that means that democracy is lost. She cited 90 countries willing to help, but explained that it isn't enough to stop the tyranny of Putin. She explained that the steps that must be taken to marginalize Putin are to eliminate them from the United Nations Security Council, cut off their banks, protect the skies and stop the sales of their oil.
"We have Russia sitting on the security council of the United Nations telling the world what to do for security," she continued. Meanwhile, Ukrainians can't get out. While hundreds of thousands have fled, other cities and towns are surrounded by Russians.
"So this is a public execution of a whole nation in front of the whole world, and nobody can do anything," she lamented. "And he would keep going. He would go for other countries because the world cannot even respond in strong sanctions because you protect your own pockets. You don't want to pay extra for the gas or the oil, and you don't want to put stronger sanctions on him. You don't want to shut down their banking system. You took 7 out of 300 banks, and you call this a reaction? We have thousands of people dying, civilians dying every day, and the world is still hesitating whether we should step in with the sanctions, whether we should give Ukraine weapons to protect the sky. Everybody has seen what Israel did, the so-called iron dome they're using to shut down the missiles. We're asking for the same. We're asking to give us the protection for our sky."
She doesn't want western leaders to hesitate anymore.
See the interview below:
Ukrainian member of Parliament says the West isn't doing enough to hit back against Russia www.youtube.com
