“Russia is once again showing itself to be a criminal,” says the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, Vasyl Khymynets, on the Russian blockade of grain exports. According to Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, should the West ease sanctions against Russia and Belarus, Russia will also ease the blockade. For Khymynets, however, one thing is certain: These statements are “clearly blackmail”. He assumes that one of Putin’s goals is to split and weaken the community in the West. With the blockade, Putin wants to declare “a global crisis,” the ambassador told Newsroom LIVE.
EU should “set a clear signal”
“The West must under no circumstances allow itself to be intimidated by this blackmail,” emphasizes the ambassador. Khymynets is demanding a “clear signal” from the EU. “It’s about the question of Ukraine’s membership of the EU,” he says in an interview with PULS 24 anchor Thomas Mohr. The EU must “recognize the strong will of the Ukrainian people”, because more than 90 percent of Ukrainians are in favor of EU accession. Khymynets has no doubts that Ukraine will be granted EU accession candidate status.
For the Ukrainian ambassador in Austria, there is still a clear picture of hospitality towards Ukrainian refugees. “Austria’s solidarity is strong,” he says in an interview. Khymynets said that reports of parking lot fights could change the mood in Austrian society and that he hoped that Austrians would not “generalize” these incidents.