Ukraine war: Volodymyr Zelensky urges EU to end ‘quarrels’, adopt sanctions
- ‘It is time for you to be not separate, not fragments, but one whole,’ Zelensky said, calling for new sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian oil
- EU divisions have slowed the adoption of another sanctions package against Russia, with Hungary saying it will not back an oil embargo against Moscow
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union (EU) on Monday to end internal “quarrels” saying they only helped Moscow and asked the bloc to adopt more sanctions against Russia.
“All quarrels in Europe must end, internal disputes that only encourage Russia to put more and more pressure on you,” Zelensky told an EU summit in Brussels via video-link.
“It is time for you to be not separate, not fragments, but one whole,” he said, calling for a new set of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian oil.
EU divisions have slowed the adoption of another sanctions package against Russia, with Hungary saying it will not back an oil embargo against Moscow.
“It is clear that there should be progress in sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said “greater unity” in the bloc was the only effective way to counter Russia, stressing Kyiv has shown how important unity can be while battling the Russian invasion.
“If someone torpedoes a ship, it’s impossible for one or more cabins to have hope to stay afloat when others drown,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine: Troops fight Russians in ‘completely ruined’ key city
He also said he hoped that those EU countries that oppose fast tracking Kyiv’s EU candidacy status will “change their minds”.
“We have met all the necessary criteria for this status,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Ukraine has been angered by German chancellor Olaf Scholz comments that Kyiv’s bid to join the EU cannot be sped up despite Russia’s invasion.
A car bomb exploded in the Russia-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol on Monday, injuring several people in what Russia’s Investigative Committee and a Ukrainian official said may have been the work of Ukrainians opposed to Russia.
“On 30 May, 2022, an explosion reportedly took place in the centre of Melitopol near a residential building at the time of distribution of humanitarian aid, which was organised by Ukrainian saboteurs,” the Russian investigative committee said on its website.
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Inside Kherson, the first Ukrainian city to fall under full Russian control
According to preliminary information, three people were injured as a result, the committee added.
Melitopol’s exiled mayor, Ivan Fedorov, also reported the explosion in separate statement, adding that it occurred near a building that belongs to the head of Russia-appointed administration.
He said it was possible that the explosion was the work of local resistance as the city’s inhabitants continued to protest against the occupation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier on Monday condemned the explosion, saying attacks against civilian infrastructure in Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine were “outrageous”.
