Victory ‘a matter of time,’ says Ukraine FM after Kherson liberation

Phnom Penh, Nov 11 (EFE).- The retaking of Kherson is the latest battle won by Ukraine and a full victory over Russia is only “a matter of time,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Saturday in Cambodia.

Kuleba was speaking at a press conference in Phnom Penh as a special guest at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“In our defensive war against our enemy, Ukraine will prevail, it’s a matter of time (…) every inch of Ukraine will be liberated,” Kuleba said at the capital’s Sokha Hotel where meetings of ASEAN leaders and external partners, including the United States, Russia and China, are being held this weekend.

Kuleba justified his optimism by the victories that the Ukrainian forces have had in various battles, such as in Kyiv, in the occupied areas of the northeast of the country, and in Kherson, from which the Russians retreated Friday.

The minister also denounced the Russian military for torturing and murdering civilians and attacking infrastructure.

In this regard, he appealed to the international community, including Southeast Asian countries, to deliver transformers, generators and parts to Ukraine to help repair electrical infrastructure, which is needed in the dead of winter in Ukraine.

In Phnom Penh, Kuleba has signed up to a peace treaty with the region and has met with his counterparts from Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The minister thanked ASEAN for supporting Kyiv and asked it to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, saying “it’s not only an attack against the sovereignty of a sovereign country, but also an attack against the UN Charter.”

Kuleba added that countries have many ways to support Ukraine, not only through sanctions against Russia, but by sending military or humanitarian aid.

The Ukrainian minister ruled out a meeting Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who is also at the summit, but said he is open to one if Russia is “sincere” in wanting to negotiate.

Kuleba regretted that the Russian authorities demand “full capitulation and unconditional surrender,” which he described as unacceptable for Ukraine, and recalled that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has refused to sit down to negotiate with his Ukrainian counterpart. EFE

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