{"id":6437,"date":"2022-01-28T20:22:53","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T20:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/zelenskiy-calls-for-calm-warns-of-destabilization-amid-russia-fears.html"},"modified":"2022-01-28T20:22:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T20:22:54","slug":"zelenskiy-calls-for-calm-warns-of-destabilization-amid-russia-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediateka.online\/learnrussian\/zelenskiy-calls-for-calm-warns-of-destabilization-amid-russia-fears.html","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskiy Calls For Calm, Warns Of Destabilization Amid Russia Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zelenskiy

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WATCH: Zelenskiy Calls For Clear Security Guarantees From The West Amid Russia Fears<\/p>\n

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KYIV — Ukraine\u2019s president again pushed back on U.S. assertions that a new Russian invasion of Ukraine was imminent, as he sought to tamp down fears within the country and ease mounting economic strains. <\/p>\n

Speaking before foreign reporters in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelenskiy insisted that tensions with Russia had not increased and that the main risk to his country is destabilization from within.<\/p>\n

Live Briefing: Ukraine In The Crosshairs \"\"

Check out RFE\/RL’s new live briefing on the massive buildup of Russian forces near Ukraine’s border and the diplomacy under way to prevent a possible invasion\u200b. Ukraine In The Crosshairs presents the latest developments and analysis, updated throughout the day.<\/p>\n

Zelenskiy said that while he couldn’t rule out a further escalation of tensions, it is not clear that the start of a war with Russia, which has moved more than an estimated 100,000 troops to areas close to Ukraine’s border, is certain.<\/p>\n

"I don’t consider the situation now more tense than before. There is a feeling abroad that there is war here. That’s not the case," he said January 28. "I am not saying an escalation is not possible…[but] we don’t need this panic.\u201d <\/p>\n

In recent weeks, a number of U.S. officials have made sometimes dire warnings that Russia planned to launch a new invasion of Ukraine. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki earlier this week said that an invasion was \u201cimminent." <\/p>\n

Ukrainian officials have made notably different statements in an attempt to downplay an immediate threat. <\/p>\n

\u201cAre there tanks driving on our streets? No,\u201d Zelenskiy said. \u201cBut if you are not here, that’s the sense you are getting in England, Germany, France, in Lithuania\u2026. The impression you are getting from the media is that there is a war going on here, that soldiers are marching down our streets, that a mobilization has been declared, that people are going somewhere. That’s not the case. We don’t need this panic.\u201d <\/p>\n

Zelenskiy gave veiled criticism of Western nations who were warning of new economic sanctions but only if Russia invades. He suggested that the sanctions were needed before any possible invasion. <\/p>\n

\"Stocking

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\u201cEveryone is saying that there will be a war tomorrow, a large-scale one. Why all this talk about sanctions afterwards?\u201d he said. \u201cSuch sanctions are definitely not designed [to help] our country. It speaks of an effort to restrain a large-scale aggression away from EU member states. But it cannot be done at the expense of our country.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are talking of the need to come up with some preemptive sanctions — NATO is one such sanction. If it’s not NATO, then be so kind and show us your security guarantees,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Zelenskiy said that Ukraine needs not only military support from the West during the current crisis but also political and economic support, including $4-5 billion to help stabilize the economy.<\/p>\n

He also warned that Ukraine, as well as eastern members of the NATO military alliance, may be exposed to cyberattacks and other tactics by Russia.<\/p>\n