In an extraordinary plenary of the European Parliament, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said, with the right pressure, “we can surely push Russia towards a just peace”.
Marking 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion, he addressed the MEPs in Brussels on November 19.
Zelensky expressed gratitude to the European Union for its support and said Ukraine and its allies had succeeded not only in “preventing Putin from taking Ukraine” but also in defending the freedom of all European nations.
“Putin remains smaller than the united strength of Europe. I urge you not to forget this, and not to forget how much Europe is capable of achieving. We can surely push Russia towards a just peace. Peace is what we desire the most,” Zelensky said.
He underlined the need for firm sanctions and highlighted the role of so-called “shadow tankers”.
These are ships used to evade Western sanctions on Russian oil exports by disguising their origins, transferring cargo at sea, or operating under obscure ownership.
“Putin can kill as long as these tankers operate,” Zelensky said, adding: “You know very well that Putin does not value people or rules, only money and power. These are the things we must take away from him to restore peace.”
He concluded by saying: “No one can enjoy calm water amid the storm. We must do everything we can to end this war fairly and justly. 1000 days of war is a tremendous challenge. We must make the next year the year of peace.”
The speech was made just after Ukraine received the green light from the US to strike with long-range missiles into Russian territory and Kyiv went on to do just that.
After months of outgoing US President Joe Biden ignoring Ukraine’s requests on the topic, Washington gave the country permission on November 17 to use long-range ATACMS missiles against targets deep in the Russian mainland.
The move prompted fury in the Kremlin, with Russian President Vladimir Putin adjusting the country’s nuclear doctrine on November 19 to consider any nuclear-armed party part of a conflict if it helped a non-nuclear state attack Russia.
“Aggression from any non-nuclear state, but with the involvement or backing of a nuclear state, will be considered a joint attack on Russia,” TASS reports the new doctrine as including.
The alleged policy change has not dissuaded Ukraine, with reports of the first strike deep in Russian territory using ATACMS missiles emerging the same day.
The attack on a military base in the Bryansk region reportedly resulted in a small fire that was quickly put out by Russian personnel.
There were no reported casualties.
Additional reporting by Peter Caddle.
BREAKING:
Zelensky speaks by video link in front of the European Parliament on the 1000th day of Putin’s “3-day war”
He says that 11 000 soldiers of the North Korean Army are now entering the fight against Ukraine, but that the number of North Koreans could increase to 100 000. pic.twitter.com/NrKgK0Gyeg
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