The biggest risk for Ukraine is to destabilize the situation inside the country, its leader said (File)
Kiev:
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called on the West to refrain from creating “panic” by the gathering of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border.
“We don’t need this panic,” Zelensky told a news conference with foreign media.
He pointed to the need to “stabilize” Ukraine’s already battered economy as he insisted he no longer saw a major threat during a similar rush of Russian troops last spring.
“Because of all these signs that there will be war tomorrow, there are also signals from respected leaders of states, they simply say that there will be war tomorrow. This is panic – how much does it cost for our state?” Asked.
Efforts by Ukraine’s leader to ease tensions come as some Western allies – led by the United States – have warned of a possible imminent invasion by Moscow.
“The biggest risk for Ukraine is destabilizing the situation inside the country,” Zelensky said.
The West says Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops and heavy armor to Ukraine’s borders and threatens major sanctions if the Kremlin incursions.
The US, Britain and Australia recently angered Kiev by ordering the families of diplomats to leave their embassies in Ukraine.
Ukraine has been fighting with Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east since 2014, which has killed more than 13,000 people. In the same year Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula.
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