Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking via video link at the 2023 Democracy Summit organized by US President Joseph Biden, called on participants to maintain respect for democracy in countries where freedom has not yet prevailed.
As stated on March 29 in a video address by the President of Ukraine, Russia has long been waging war against many democracies of the world, using mechanisms of disinformation, corruption, interference in elections, espionage, cybercrime, and now attempts to provoke a global energy and food crisis.
“The enemies of freedom have not lost a single year over the past decades. They have directed all their time and unlimited resources to weaken, debauch, and undermine democracies. But have all the efforts of the free world been directed at limiting the aggressive potential of tyrants and bringing them to legal responsibility for their crimes? Unfortunately, no. We must correct this,” Zelensky said.
He is convinced that ‘democracy needs to learn to be uncompromising in the face of evil.’
In President Zelensky’s own words: ‘Firstly, we should not be thinking about how to save Putin’s face… We need to be thinking about how to preserve respect for democracy in those countries where freedom has not yet won.
Secondly, defenders of democracy must help with all the weapons that will be reliable in ensuring the defeat of the aggressor.’
The Ukrainian leader stated that ‘the Kremlin is trying to turn even food supplies into weapons’ – and this is ‘a war against freedom and democracy.’
He called on Summit participants to more actively freeze the assets of Russian oligarchs, as “they must have a motive to act in defense of freedom and put an end to Kremlin aggression and terrorist rule.”
In addition, Zelensky described the situation as unpleasant, where “sanctions against Russia are significantly slower than Russian aggression.”
Zelensky compared the Ukrainian military’s fight against the Russian army to a fire: firefighters cannot wait for months for fire trucks or accept the rule that fire hydrants should only be mandatory for short distances.
In direct speech: “When our soldiers repel assaults near Bakhmut, they cannot wait for weeks for artillery and shells. The fire must be immediate to neutralize the threat. All our decisions must be just as quick.
Democracy needs victory. We can achieve it this year, no later than that. Ukraine and everyone who helps. But we need to act faster.