Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told European leaders that they acted too late in trying to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through sanctions. Zelensky delivered a late-night address to the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday via a video call from Kyiv. He outlined the massive destruction which has been caused by Russia in its invasion in Ukraine.
“You have applied sanctions, we are grateful. These are powerful steps, but it was too little too late… there was a chance,” he said, adding that if there had been preventative sanctions, then perhaps Russia wouldn’t have gone to war. He also pointed at the Nord stream 2 gas pipeline. He says if it was blocked earlier, “Russia would not have created a gas crisis”.
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He said while no one knows if earlier sanctions on Russia would have prevented them from invading Ukraine, there is a huge chance that Russia would have pulled back and thought twice about invading Ukraine. Zelensky appealed to European Union leaders asking them to fast-track Ukraine’s application to be part of the NATO.
Zelensky praised countries including Poland, Italy, Czech Republic and Estonia for the support they have given to the people of Ukraine. He then called out Germany, Ireland and Portugal for their stance also denouncing Hungary for the relationship it has with Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president said Hungary has to make a decision on who they stand with in this war.
USA President Joe Biden travelled to Poland where more than two million Ukrainian refugees have fled to since the start of the invasion. Biden imposed new sanctions on Russia on Thursday targeting 300 members of the Russian parliament.
Source: iNews, Metro, Sky News, The Free Press Journal, image from iNews
