I cannot call upon residents to return from abroad because air defence system is not able provide at least 90% protection

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, stated that he cannot call upon Ukrainians to return from abroad now, since the air defence systems cannot protect the Ukrainian skies by at least 90%.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with journalists on 16 November

Quote: "I can't say ‘come back’. If today the Armed Forces of Ukraine could protect the sky completely, or at least 90%... We now have statistics that we shoot down 70% [of rockets and missiles – ed.]. If we shot down 90-95%, we would tell people ‘It's a risk, but we tell you frankly, the state's economy is unsustainable without you and will die.’ And that is true, it cannot exist without working people.

But I can't say this now, because today I can't guarantee that our Air Force will provide 90-95%, or preferably 100%, protection."

Details: As Zelenskyy said, in the current situation, when returning from abroad involves some risk, it is everyone’s personal decision, depending on their family situations and other factors.

However, he expressed confidence that after the end of the war, Ukrainians will return without needing any encouragement to do so.

"And they will all return very quickly [after the victory – ed.]. Believe me. We don't need to do anything. You will say: ‘Wait, you are not Ukrainians, you don't have Ukrainian citizenship, where are you going?’ Everyone will go. We will have a boom," Zelenskyy believes.

He noted that on Wednesday he met with Anna Bjerde, World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia.

"She is sure that there will be a boom in both human capital and in people returning, and there will be an economic boom in Ukraine. They look at their analytics and see how much capital can flow here," President assured.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!