Petro Poroshenko, during a speech at the congress of Lithuania\u2019s largest party, the Fatherland Union \u2013 Lithuanian Christian Democrats, in Vilnius, stated that Ukraine has entered a new phase of the war, when the aggressor is trying to destroy the economy and civilian life in the rear, primarily in the capital.<\/p>\n
This was reported by the press service of \u201cEuropean Solidarity\u201d<\/a> .<\/p>\n \u201cI call this the second siege of Kyiv. In 2022, Putin tried to take Kyiv with tanks, artillery, encirclement, blocked roads. He wanted to break the capital, destroy the state administration, and force Ukraine to surrender. And he was defeated. Today he is trying to achieve the same goal, but by different means. Now the siege is being waged from the air: hours-long waves of drones, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles; continuous air alert signals; strikes on transport, energy, logistics, and civilian infrastructure,\u201d Poroshenko said.<\/p>\n He noted that Russia\u2019s strategic goal has not changed: to make life in Kyiv impossible, exhaust the population, paralyze the economy, destroy people\u2019s faith in the state\u2019s ability to protect them, and thus break Ukraine\u2019s ability to resist.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia wants the country\u2019s largest city, a metropolis of four million people, to not have even a hint of normal life. So that people don\u2019t know whether they can get to work, whether school will open, whether there will be light, whether the train will arrive, whether businesses will be able to operate. This is an attempt to erase the line between the front and the rear,\u201d the fifth President stated.<\/p>\n Poroshenko added that today Ukrainian resilience lies not only in holding combat positions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt consists in ensuring the possibility of a normal life for tens and tens of millions of people despite the relentless Russian terror. We are used to preparing for winter attacks on power plants and power grids. But now Russia\u2019s strategy is broader. It strikes at warehouses, logistics centers, postal terminals, railways, ports, production facilities, transport hubs, supply chains. This is a war against life: to stop business, disrupt the delivery of food, medicine, fuel; to prevent the movement of people and goods and create a sense of chaos. Chaos is Putin\u2019s goal,\u201d the leader of Eurosolidarity believes.<\/p>\n He noted that this is why protecting the Ukrainian economy is now part of national defense.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Ukrainian business is an integral part of our national resilience. It pays taxes, maintains jobs, invests, supports the army, produces products, and continues to work under missile fire. That is why our most urgent need today is air defense. Patriot, interceptor missiles, other air defense systems, means of combating drones,\u201d Poroshenko said.<\/p>\n According to the fifth president, today each interceptor missile is more than a piece of equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a saved life, this is a hospital that continues to work, this is a train that has arrived at its destination, this is a factory that continues to work. That is why I am counting on Lithuania very much. Not only on your own help \u2013 you are doing the maximum possible. We need a strong voice of Lithuania in Europe for the maximum concentration of air defense resources for Ukraine. Because today the outcome of this war is increasingly being decided in the sky over all of Ukraine,\u201d Poroshenko concluded. <\/p>\n Also follow \u201cPryamim\u201d on Facebook<\/a> , X<\/a> , Telegram<\/a> , and Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t