Konstantin Dolgov, the minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said Wednesday that he would seek more international assistance for his country. Dolgov’s comments, made at the opening ceremony of the 73rd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, come at a time when the situation on the Ukraine-Russia border continues to be highly volatile.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the Kremlin had transported 1,000 troops and enough armaments to support a war against Ukraine, and Russia has recently dramatically stepped up its military deployment near the border.
In an effort to reassure Ukrainians that support is being sought from abroad, Dolgov said that the United States has sought military aid, and the European Union has proposed emergency loans to Ukraine. However, he added, “Ukraine is not seeking membership in NATO, nor the adoption of any sanctions against the Russian Federation.”
And he reiterated President Poroshenko’s earlier comments that it will only be possible to contain the crisis with Russian support, and it is in the interests of both Ukraine and the European Union to seek support on the diplomatic and economic fronts. Dolgov added that the most important thing is to help Ukraine through the worst phase of the crisis, “when a weapon could be deployed at will and people could be massacred.”
Moscow has denied that it plans to advance its forces toward the Ukrainian border.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that Russia’s aggression was a “miserable reality,” and he expressed confidence that the U.S. could work with the European Union to “maximize pressure” on Russia for its “destructive actions.”
Dolgov acknowledged that the fight against terrorism had been deteriorating, as the death toll from Russia-backed terrorists continued to rise. In his remarks, he said that “nowhere” was the situation worse than in Syria.