Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an emotional address Tuesday to lawmakers at Germany’s Bundestag, speaking about Europe’s long history of war that has denied peace to generations of Europeans.
“That is why the dream of a Europe that must be a continent of culture, must be a continent of people, must be a continent without war, has gained so much strength,” he said. “I personally have confidence in this kind of Europe.”
The Ukrainian leader said Russian President Vladimir Putin must be held liable for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“The time for compromises is over,” Zelenskyy said. “It was over exactly when Putin started burning cities and awarding his murderers. When he chose killings over agreements.”
Ukraine needs air defense, says Zelenskyy
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Zelenskyy spoke at a reconstruction conference hosted by Germany, where he stressed the need for air defenses and rebuilding Ukraine’s energy system. He said Russian drone and missile attacks have destroyed half of the country’s energy generation capacity since winter.
He said that after two years of war, Ukraine’s military has shown it can hold the front lines and maintain access to the Black Sea.
“Russia’s greatest strategic advantage over Ukraine is superiority in the sky. It is missile and bomb terror that helps Russian troops advance on the ground,” Zelenskyy said. “Air defense is the answer.”
He said Ukraine expects to secure billions of dollars in aid for its military and infrastructure needs.
Leaders will discuss peace
The conference in Berlin comes days ahead of a peace conference in Switzerland where 90 countries and organizations will work on a framework for carrying out a peace plan and how to involve Russia and Ukraine in a peace process.
Russia is not attending the talks in Switzerland.
A summit of NATO leaders is set for early July in Washington. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Riga, Latvia, he expects allies at the summit will agree to a “long-term financial commitment to Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg told reporters in Latvia that NATO allies already provide 99% of military support to Ukraine, so it makes sense for the alliance itself to play a larger role in coordinating efforts and preventing gaps in aid deliveries to Ukrainian forces.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
