UWC President: Peace will come once Putin is defeated

There will be no peace in Europe’s largest ground war since World War II until Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin is defeated, said Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Paul Grod in an interview with ABC News Breakfast on March 14. 

Grod’s remarks come amid a 15-day visit to Australia that ends on March 22.

“[Putin] seeks a maximalist approach – restoring trade, reducing sanctions, supplying oil to Europe, and re-establishing influence, aiming to recreate the Soviet Union,” the UWC president said.

He said that Russia is not seeking a truce to end the war it started but is focused on diverting global attention from its imperialist ambitions. In contrast, Ukrainians are doing everything possible to end the war, as they are the ones who most want peace.

“Ukrainians were the ones who were invaded. They did not start the war. Eleven years ago, Russia initially invaded Ukraine, and then three years ago started the full-scale invasion. Russian has been consistently bombing Ukrainian cities, […] the Ukrainians live through this on a daily basis,” Grod said.

Earlier, Grod had urged Australia and other nations to increase their support for Ukraine, including joining the “coalition of the willing,” an alliance of Ukraine’s partners proposed as a military-political framework at an online London summit over the past weekend.