Measures would not be without cost to world economy, but alternative far worse – Yermak

He wrote this in an essay for The New York Times, Ukrinform reports.

“We are thankful to our American and European friends, to democracies worldwide including Australia and Japan, for their quick decisions to help us, for their sanctions against the Russian economy, for the armaments and equipment to deter the aggressor. But it’s not enough. We need more — and, please, stop telling us military aid is on the way. Nothing less than our freedom — and yours — is at stake. […] We need antitank and antiaircraft weapons and other ammunition delivered to our brave soldiers right now. We are calling on the West to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. We recognize that this would be a serious escalation in the war and that it could bring NATO into direct conflict with Russia. But we firmly believe that Russia won’t stop at just Ukraine, which would potentially drag NATO into this conflict anyway. A no-fly zone would at least give Mr. Putin some pause,” Yermak wrote.

According to him Ukraine also asks the West to increase the nonmilitary costs on Russia.

“We welcome the coordinated measures thus far, but we need more. Every Russian bank — not just a select few — must be cut off from the SWIFT banking system, and every Russian oligarch must be sanctioned. We are also calling for a full embargo on Russian oil and all Russian exports to the United States and Europe. These measures would not be without cost to the world economy, but the alternative is far worse,” Yermak wrote.

As reported, on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine and launched a large-scale invasion. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure. Missiles hit residential buildings.

Martial law was imposed in Ukraine and general mobilization was announced.

Ukraine officially filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation with the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague.

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