MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. The people of Ukraine need to decide if they want peace or war, the country’s former President Viktor Yanukovich said.
"I think that today, like never before, there is a need to adequately assess the situation and show respect for all the various opinions of Ukrainian citizens. The people need to make a choice, deciding if they want to fight ‘until the last Ukrainian’ or try to preserve what’s left. It’s crucial to give the opportunity to speak to everyone who has meaningful proposals and give peace a chance. It will make it possible to save the lives of Ukrainians and ensure a future for Ukraine," he pointed out in an address that his spokesman Yury Kirasir posted on Facebook (an Internet platform banned in Russia since it is owned by Meta corporation deemed extremist by Russian authorities).
Yanukovich believes that the information policy that the Ukrainian authorities are pursuing has harmed the country a lot. Constant lies "are making the situation worse, leading to unnecessary suffering and casualties among Ukrainian troops and civilians and threatening the future of Ukraine that we know and love," the ex-president stressed.
Yanukovich called on the Kiev authorities to stop "lying about ‘victories’ because the situation in the country is telling a different story," and allow politicians with alternative views to have a say.
The former head of state stressed that since 2014, the country’s authorities had many times deceived the Ukrainian people, shattering their hopes for lasting peace.
"The Ukrainian leadership should stop sorting Ukrainians into right and wrong before it’s too late, and find the strength to extend a hand to those who view the situation differently. The time has come to unite not for the sake of waging war, which claims the lives of hundreds of Ukrainians every day, but for the sake of jointly searching for solutions," Yanukovich noted.