Zelensky tells West: Stop playing around with Russia

• 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Western allies to "not play around with Russia" and to impose tougher sanctions on it to end the "senseless war".

Zelensky's remarks come amid the European Union's undecided sixth package of anti-Russian sanctions and as the Russian forces attempt to encircle the two eastern cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.

According to Reuters, "Western military analysts see the battle for Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk as a possible turning point in the war after a shift in momentum towards Russia following the surrender of Ukraine's garrison in Mariupol last week."

On Thursday, Zelensky said that "Ukraine will always be an independent state and it won't be broken. The only question is what price our people will have to pay for their freedom, and what price Russia will pay for this senseless war against us."

He claimed that "the catastrophic unfolding events could be still stopped if the world treated the situation in Ukraine as if it were facing the same situation, if the powers that be did not play around with Russia but really pressed to end the war."

The Ukrainian President criticized the EU for not agreeing on more anti-Russian sanctions, stating that Moscow is gaining one billion euros a day from the EU for energy supplies.

"How many more weeks will the European Union try to agree on a sixth package?" Zelensky asked.

"Pressure on Russia is literally a matter of saving lives. Every day of procrastination, weakness, various disputes or proposals to 'pacify' the aggressor at the expense of the victim merely means more Ukrainians being killed," he claimed.

It is noteworthy that the West has provided Ukraine with long-range weaponry, including M777 howitzers and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.