AJ
During the address by Zelensky, the Ukrainian President discussed Russia, the supplies and plans received by Iran, and the support that is needed for a stronger Europe.
Zelensky began by noting that not a single power plant left in Ukraine had avoided damage by Russian attacks – not one.
“When the Iranian regime first gave Russia the Shahed drones, they were simple weapons, they could be shot down easily,” Zelensky noted, but added: “Now the Shahed is different – it has a jet engine, it can fly at different altitudes, it can be guided by an operator in real time and it can use Starlink to reach its target.”
Zelensky noted that Ukraine doesn’t share a border with Iran, and have never had a conflict of interest with the Iranian regime: “But the Iranian Shahed drones they sold to Russia are killing, especially our people, Ukrainians, and destroying our infrastructure.”
According to Zelensky, the Iranian regime has already done, and can still do, more harm than many other regimes could in a century: “And yet, this regime still exists, and hopes to survive everything – even this crisis,” Zelensky pointed out.
“Today, the people of Iran expect from the world what we in Ukraine needed on February 24th, when the Russian invasion began: unity, determination, and speed – of course, speed – regimes like the one in Iran must not be given time, because when they have time, they will only kill more,” Zelensky warned.
“They must be stopped immediately, and this is exactly what should have happened with the Ayatollah after all the wars his regime unleashed and the lives it took,” Zelensky added.
However, in terms of defending against the Iranian drones, Zelensky noted: “We will reach the point where we produce enough interceptors to make Shahed (Geran-2) drones meaningless for Russia, but there is no country in Europe that could rely only on its own technology and money to defend itself.”
In terms of Russia, Putin still has guarantees of financial stability, and a large part of those guarantees came from Europe, noted Zelensky.
“Russian oil tankers still move freely along Europe’s shores, in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Mediterranean – overall, Russia still uses more than a thousand tankers.
“I recently discussed this with President Macron, with President von der Leyen, and with other leaders, and I thank them for their willingness to fix this,” continued Zelensky, adding that this was spoken about in great detail.
Zelensky said it was important to block the entire Russian fleet, all the tankers, and to have them confiscated, the same way the United States “acts against shadow fleet tankers near its own shores.”
During December, “our forces eliminated 35,000 occupying soldiers – killed and severely wounded,” Zelensky stated, adding: “In January, there were fewer Russian assaults, and as a result, Russia’s losses were about 30,000 killed and badly wounded.
“There is even a clear price Russia pays for every kilometre of occupied Ukrainian land on the Donetsk front – the price Russia now pays for one kilometre is 156 soldiers.”
Zelensky continued: “Putin may not be concerned about this now, but there is a level at which he will start to care – every month, Russia mobilizes about 40,000 people, sometimes a little more – not all of them reach the front line, so overall, the size of the Russian contingent in Ukraine is not growing this year.”
In terms of Ukraine’s goals, Zelensky said: “For our army, the mission is clear: to destroy more Russian occupiers, because they are occupiers – and the goal is specific, at least 50,000 per month.”
To justify this, Zelensky continued: “Look at the pain Ukraine has gone through, look at the pain Ukraine has faced – it’s Ukrainians who are holding the European front.”
According to Zelensky, Putin doesn’t live like ordinary people: “He doesn’t walk the streets, you will not see him in a cafe, his grandchildren do not go to the normal kindergartens in their hometown,” Zelensky noted.
Putin cannot imagine life without power or after power, claimed Zelensky, stating that normal things don’t interest the Russian President: “Putin consults more with Tsar Peter and Empress Catherine than with any living person about real life – can you imagine Putin without war?” Zelensky asked.
Zelensky continued: “He may see himself as a Tsar, but in reality, he is a slave to war, and if he lives another 10 years? We understand that it is possible, war can return or expand.”
Addressing America, Zelensky said: “We hope Trump hears us, we hope Congress hears us, we hope the American people hear us, and we are grateful for all the real help.”
Addressing Europe, Zelensky noted that the Ukrainian Army was the strongest army in Europe, thanks to the Ukrainian Heroes, “and I think it is simply not smart to keep this army outside NATO,” Zelensky added.
“We truly hope that the trilateral meetings next week will be serious and substantive – helpful for all of us – but honestly, sometimes it feels like the sides are talking about completely different things,” claimed Zelensky about the peace talks.
Zelensky continued, saying that the Americans often return to the topic of concessions: “And too often, those concessions are discussed only in the context of what Ukraine should give – not Russia.”
Meanwhile, “Europe is practically not present at the table, [and] that is a big mistake, in my view, it truly is,” noted Zelensky, adding that: “We Ukrainians are trying to bring you fully into the process so that Europe’s interests and voice are taken into account.”
Zelensky warned that it was wrong to assume that this was a permanent arrangement, or that others could stay safe behind Ukraine forever: “Ukrainians are people, not Terminators,” added the Ukrainian President.
Noting that Putin was like Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Zelensky said: “It seems Putin hopes to repeat Munich – not Munich 2007, when they only spoke about dividing Europe, but Munich 1938, when the previous Putin began dividing Europe in reality.”
Ukraine is ready for a deal, said Zelensky, but one that brings real peace to Ukraine and Europe: “I am confident that this war can be ended, and ended with dignity,” Zelensky added.
Christiane Amanpour asked Zelensky afterwards whether there was any pressure felt by Trump, to which Zelensky said of course, because the American side proposed a free economic zone, and while Ukraine was ready to look at such proposals, the territory was and would have to remain Ukrainian.
Zelensky noted how impossible it was just to withdraw from an area where 200,000 Ukrainians lived: “It is our land, we cannot simply run away – we did not run away on the first day of this war, so why would we do it today?
“We are ready to talk about a free economic zone, maybe it could be something important for compromises and for the reconstruction of Ukraine, so we are ready to take steps, but what are the Russians ready to do?” asked Zelensky, noting that Ukraine wanted to hear something from them.
Zelensky said that he saw comparisons on elections: “They say they had elections during the Civil War with Lincoln, but how can we compare that to us? Our people are under missiles; it is not just a land war – we are under ballistic attacks, give us a ceasefire!”
Returning the favour, Zelensky added: “We can also give a ceasefire for Russians if they will do elections in Russia.”
