“If there had been total unity when Russia invaded Crimea, would it have launched the February invasion?” he accused at the Davos Forum.
Volódimir Zelenski jumped from gratitude to reproach in his highly anticipated telematics intervention at the Davos Forum this Monday. And while the plot’s development isn’t new — direct or succinct, it has been on that tour of international speeches practically since the outbreak of the conflict — this Monday the tone caught our attention: it distilled fear and resignation. And the triumphalism of the past was barely diluted in a sentence with a painful meaning: “Ukraine loses a lot every day, but that makes us stronger,” he said.
This Tuesday marks the 90th day of a war that has consolidated Russia as an international pariah; in which the unity of the West translates into war aid to Ukraine, billions of aid. And a policy of isolation from the intruder that stands in the way of economic recovery. And that has pushed Europe to seek solutions to an energy crisis against the clock, while being divided on how to move forward by blocking Russian oil and gas. But Zelensky believes more can be done. That is not enough. The situation is already dire. “Ukraine is running out of time,” he condemns.
The president is already talking about casualties in his military; of about a hundred dead a day in the offensive that Russia is intensifying in Donbas, he assured the day before. In Davos, he also addressed his interlocutors and confirmed the discovery of 87 bodies in Desna, in the Chernigov region, victims of a Russian missile attack on May 17. Pointless death. And an uncertain future for the country that faces a long and expensive reconstruction. Zelensky asked for all possible help.
And it happened with the reproaches. He criticized the international community not only that the measures against Russia are insufficient. He placed her before the mirror of history. Broadly speaking, he accused the West of being hesitant and lenient towards Moscow in the weeks leading up to the attack. And in a flashback of greater projection, he blamed him for looking the other way when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Of that dust, this mud.
“Ukraine would not have had to endure this war, with so many casualties, if severe sanctions had been imposed last fall.” “If a total unit had existed in 2014, would they have launched the February invasion?” A rhetorical question to which he had a clear ‘no’. And it wasn’t the only one. In his long half-hour speech that began after 11 a.m., the Ukrainian president, dressed in a campaign shirt, emphasized an idea: a turning point has already been reached.
Will brute force rule the world? This is when you decide. If so, there’s no point in having meetings like Davos.” And another question with depth charges. “They should wake up every morning feeling ‘What have I done for Ukraine today’.” There were no euphemisms .
Zelensky presided over the opening of the World Forum that has not been held for the past two years due to the pandemic and will pass more than 190 world leaders as well as major corporate fortunes and international experts. Until Thursday, Ukraine took advantage of the first day of this busy Davos event, which also included climate change, food shortages in Africa, the energy crisis or weak economic growth.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was one of the first leaders to respond to Zelensky’s words. He promised to “double efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to Ukrainians” and ensure that the country “can export to the rest of the world”. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked the Ukrainian leader for his words via Twitter and pledged maximum European support for reconstruction. “Our reconstruction platform demonstrates the EU’s commitment to Ukraine’s future as a free, democratic and prosperous country. Kyiv hopes it will be recognized as a candidate country for accession next month, causing divisions within the EU.
Source: La Verdad
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