Zelenskyy calls Russian energy sector a legitimate military target
The president said Ukraine does not need to choose between hitting military targets and Russia’s energy sector, as both are part of the same chain.
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Zelenskyy stressed that Russia uses revenues from oil sales to fund the war, so its energy sites are legitimate targets. / © Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia’s energy infrastructure is a legitimate target, as the country finances its war against Ukraine through income from energy sales.
The president said this on February 8 during a meeting with students at the Kyiv Aviation Institute.
He said Ukraine should not choose between striking military targets or the aggressor country’s energy sector, as the two are directly linked.
«We should not choose whether to hit a military target or the energy sector. He sells this energy, sells oil, takes the money and invests it in weapons. And with these weapons he kills Ukrainians, ” Zelenskyy said.
The president said Ukraine has two logical options in this war: either destroy enemy weapons directly or strike the sources funding Russia’s military-industrial complex.
«What should Ukrainians do? There are two paths. We build weapons and strike their weapons. Or we strike the source of their money and its growth. And that source is energy, ” he said.
Zelenskyy stressed that all these facilities are legitimate military targets for Ukraine because they directly enable Russia to continue its aggression.
«This is what is happening. All of this is a legitimate target for us. And who before us could have done this with the Russians? No one, ” the president added.