World >> Herald Sun

‘Majority’ of Ukrainians ready to ‘resist’ Russia if it moves in: Volodymyr Shalkivskyi

Link [2022-02-14 06:34:16]

The head of Ukraine’s mission in Canberra Volodymyr Shalkivskyi has told Sky News Australia his people will “for sure” fight to the death to defend the country from Russia if they have to. “There will be no people in the streets in Ukraine with flowers greeting Russian soldiers,” he said. “There will be heavy fighting taking into account that we have quite a strong army.” Mr Shalkivskyi said the “majority” of the population was ready to resist Russia even if that meant relying on hunting rifles. “We will use any kind of military and technical capabilities, means, that we have in our disposal in order to protect our country,” he said. His remarks come after Ukraine's ambassador in Britain raised the option of abandoning its NATO ambitions – if it means averting war with Russia. Mr Shalkivskyi said Ukraine was ready to hold talks with everyone during the challenging time to avoid the “worse-case scenario” but the majority of the population supports NATO membership.