Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants to live freely, not according to “other people’s sick fantasies.”
- Zelenskyy did not directly name President Vladimir Putin in his address on the Russian invasion.
- The Ukrainian president vowed that his troops would continue to respond to the Russian assault with “hatred and contempt.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said his country wants to live freely, not according to “other people’s sick fantasies.”
“Ukraine is united in its desire to live freely, to live independently, and for the sake of its own dreams, not other people’s sick fantasies,” Zelenskyy said in his Sunday address.
The jab did not directly name Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has continued his brutal assault on Ukraine. President Joe Biden urged on Saturday that Putin “cannot remain in power,” though the White House and the US Secretary of State later walked the comment back, saying Biden was not calling for a regime change.
Zelenskyy on Sunday warned that Ukrainian troops would continue to resist the invasion. Ukrainian military intelligence found that Russia plans to split Ukraine into two parts, like a “North and South Korea in Ukraine.”
“The answer to Russian troops will be one – hatred and contempt,” Zelenskyy said. “Everyone in Ukraine has united and has been devoting all their energy to the defense of our state for more than a month already.”
He went on to detail a litany of abuses and crimes Russia has inflicted during its invasion.
“But now you, the Russian occupiers, are creating this problem,” Zelenskyy said. “With these explosions and killings. With your crimes. You are deporting our people. You are bullying our teachers, forcing them to repeat everything after your propagandists. You are taking our mayors and Ukrainian activists hostage.”
Zelenskyy also urged Western allies to supply more weapons for the fight, asking if the West was scared of Russia in “ping-pong” discussions about providing assistance to Ukraine.
He also admonished Russian propaganda, saying the “occupiers committed another crime against history” and “historical justice.” Russia has claimed it is the victim of “cancel culture,” telling its citizens that the invasion is merely a “special military operation” that is going “according to plan.” Russia has also cracked down on journalists reporting on the war there, forcing many Western media outlets to leave the country or suspend their broadcasts.
“But we are working against lies all over the world. Let Russia know that the truth will not remain silent. And let every nation in the world feel the depth of Russia’s injustice against Ukraine. Against everything that keeps the world within morality and humanity,” Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
“The occupiers committed another crime against history. Against historical justice,” he added.
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