Speaking to France 24 from the streets of Kiev, Petro Poroshenko said he hoped Western support for Ukraine would frustrate Vladimir Putin's attempt to "trigger World War III".
The former president expresses his wish to see Ukraine join NATO, and especially the EU, calling for an immediate candidacy.
Asked about the peace talks taking place on the Belarusian border, he says he wants a ceasefire, but rules out any compromise that would challenge Ukraine's territorial integrity, demanding that the Russians "leave Ukraine ".
Petro Poroshenko believes that Vladimir Putin made "many mistakes and underestimated the Ukrainian army", and that the Russian president did not expect such strong international solidarity with Ukraine.
Finally, he affirms that "the sanctions completely destroy the Russian economy", which according to him could collapse, provoking the rumble of the Russian people: Vladimir Putin would then have no other choice but to withdraw his troops, to declare a ceasefire and negotiate.
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