In his Friday press conference for international media outlets,  Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky was emotional and blunt  in his take on the prospects of Russia’s invasion, withdrawal of Western diplomats from Kyiv, and his frustration over vague messaging Ukraine gets over its NATO membership.

On Ukraine’s prospects of joining NATO

Zelensky vented his frustration that Western leaders are failing to give a clear answer on chances of Ukraine becoming a NATO member.

‘We are not in NATO? Give us the reasons we are not in NATO. Tell it like it is  that we will never be in NATO’.

Ukraine needs security guarantees and talk of  ‘future’ sanctions coming ‘afterwards’  is getting Ukraine nowhere, said Zelensky, stressing the country is facing ‘threats’ now.

On financial aid Ukraine needs to stay afloat amid war talk and panic

The fallout from invasion speculations and media frenzy surrounding it has crippled Ukraine’s economy costing its billions as Ukraine’s leaders trying to ‘stabilize the economy’  amid  ‘signals’ coming from the West that have quiet an opposite effect.

“These signals were sent by even respected leaders of the respected countries. And sometimes, they’re not even using diplomatic language,” Zelenskyy said. ‘They’re saying, ‘Tomorrow is the war.’ This means panic in the market. Panic in the financial sector… How much does it cost to our country?’

Ukraine currently needs $4-5 billions to fix things after it saw over 12,5 billion wiped off its god and currency reserves’  amid panic.

‘This is the sum we need, although I have to tell it yet again – it is not the question of sums, it is about belief that Ukraine’s economy is robust enough and sending signal it is so.’

On effects of panic

Invasion talk alone can sink Ukraine’s economy, said Zelensky, noting people [lives] remain his government’s priority.

Ukraine’s president complained ‘the image that mass media creates is that we have troops on the roads, we have mobilization, people are leaving for places. That’s not the case. We don’t need this panic.’

He also tried to play down the threat of Moscow’s invasion, which clearly puts him somewhat at odds with the US administration that keeps pounding the alarm over  imminence of such scenario.

‘We do not see a bigger escalation that it has been before,’ Zelenskyy said of Russia’s provocations, adding that he did not think the security situation “is more intense than it was… at the peak time in early 2021.’

He said ‘you have to be cautious in your statement, every day, every minute’, arguing it can provoke real military confrontation.

On ‘misunderstandings’ with Joe Biden over assessment of military threat

Zelensky assured although Ukrainian officials ‘don’t have any misunderstandings’ with President Joe Biden, “I just deeply understand what is going on in my country, just as [Biden] understands perfectly well what is going on in the United States.’

On withdrawal of US and UK diplomats from Kyiv

With the US and Great Britain withdrawing diplomats even as the Greeks maintained their presence, Zelensky said: ‘The captains should not leave the ship. I don’t think we have a Titanic here.’, claiming the measure was unreasonable and added to heightened atmosphere of panic.

“You can hear canons firing. The Greeks didn’t pull anyone out. The captains should not leave the ship. I don’t think we have a Titanic here.’

On Russia’s’ invitation to visit ‘Sochi’

Zelensky also hit back at Russia’ foreign minister Serhiy Lavrov over his ‘cynical’ invitation for talks in Sochi’. Rattled by Lavrov’s obvious taunts, Ukraine’s president said he was eager to meet in ‘any format, and, at least,  to unblock stalling prisoners swap, noting Russian officials appear to be ‘enjoying’ to keep people behind the bars.

On Petro Poroshenko trial

Zelensky avoided to speak about Poroshenko case directly yet claimed some Ukrainian politicians are trying to disrupt the situation in Ukraine for their own ‘publicity’.

‘You have one man having a holiday abroad and everything is calm in the country, and as soon as he returns you get disturbance.’, said Zelensky in a thinly veiled shot at the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko who recently returned to Ukraine to face trial over state coal contracts secured in occupied Donbas in 2014-2015.

Speaking in rather generic terms, Zelensky called such politicians ‘produce’ of Soviet era ‘processes’.