Ukraine will prevail in face of adversity, says Foreign minister Kuleba

Dar es Salaam. It has been eight months since the war in Ukraine broke out in February, and still there is no end in sight of a conflict that has polarised global opinion.

But even with mounting casualties on both sides, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says his country will prevail at the end of the day, dismissing claims that they were not selling grain to Africa, terming it Russian misinformation.

“Since the opening of the grain corridor on August 1, we have shipped 7.7 million tons of grain and other Agricultural products such as sunflower oil, two thirds of this to Africa and the Middle East,” said Mr Kuleba.

He added: Last week we shipped grain to Kenya, China and Turkey and we have also provided 550 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ethiopia and Somalia.

According to Mr Kuleba, although every war ends with an act of diplomacy, Ukraine will not negotiate its territorial integrity.

“It is difficult to speak to Russia now, when that moment comes we shall put our cards on the table. Right now Russia prefers speaking to us on the battlefield,” he said.

Giving the example of the Idi Amin invasion in 1978, he called on Tanzania to support their cause because as a country they understand what it means to be invaded by another country.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Citizen in a virtual interview soon after he cut short his African tour, Mr Kuleba said that though they are receiving weapons and other forms of support from Western countries that alone is not enough to change the balance of power in their favour.

“It is true that we have received and continue to receive weapons from many countries, but we are still outnumbered by the Russians on the battlefield. The military aid does not cover even half of our needs on the battle fronts,” he said.

According to him, neutrality is an unfair evaluation of the conflict that has sent food prices up the roof in the process putting the entire world on the verge of hunger. “When I think about the whole issue about neutral stance, I ask myself, neutrality about what?, is it about destruction of infrastructure or deaths?” he questioned.

He however said that it is important for every country to be treated individually when it comes to the positions that they have adopted in the conflict.

“We believe that every country should be treated individually because Africa is large and diverse. Tanzania cancelled my visit to some technicalities by I am hoping to come in the near future or to invite the foreign minister to Kiev for a conversation,” he said.

He added: This conflict has affected the entire world, the effects of this invasion is being felt throughout the globe.

In his parting shot, he called on global powers to stand with Ukraine because they are the victims of the aggression.

“We call on the world to have a fair valuation of this conflict and provide the necessary weapons because this is the only way we can stop Russia for now.”