In a historic virtual address to Congress, where he received a standing ovation, President Volodymyr Zelensky again called on the United States and its NATO allies for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect it from Russian attacks.
“I need your decision, your help.” “Is it too much to ask, to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, to save people?” she said, citing Martin Luther-King’s famous “I had a dream” speech.
Showing a video of the destruction wrought by three weeks of Russian attacks on Ukraine, Zelensky compared the Russian offensive to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the Japanese air force attack on the Pearl Harbor base in 1941.
Addressing his American counterpart, Joe Biden, in English, he told him that leading the free world also means being the “leader of peace.”
Biden is expected to announce an additional $800 million in aid for Ukraine in the next few hours.
Shortly after Zelensky’s speech, the NATO chief reiterated that troops will not be sent to Ukraine but will strengthen the Alliance’s eastern flank.
NATO will hold an emergency summit in Brussels on March 24 with Biden participating, but has so far resisted Zelensky’s calls for direct involvement for fear of starting World War III.
Almost simultaneously with Zelenksi’s words, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured in a televised government meeting that the operation is being carried out “successfully” and compared the action of Western countries to the persecution of Jews.
“The West has dropped the mask of decency and started to act hatefully. Parallels are drawn with anti-Semitic pogroms,” he said, reiterating no intention of “occupying” Ukraine.
“UKRAINIAN MODEL”
Before addressing the US Congress, Zelensky urged his compatriots not to give up in their fight against Russian troops, but hinted that the conflict would end with a negotiated settlement.
“All wars end with an agreement,” he said, referring to the “difficult” but “important” negotiations continuing between kyiv and Moscow.
Earlier on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov mentioned that Austria and Sweden could be taken as models of neutrality for Ukraine, an idea that was rejected by kyiv.
“Ukraine is in a direct war with Russia. Therefore, the model can only be ‘Ukrainian’” and must have “a base of solid security guarantees”, said the Ukrainian negotiator Mijailo Podoliak.
However, Zelensky has admitted that Ukraine had to accept that it will not join NATO, one of the main arguments used by Russia to justify its offensive.
“WHITE CIVILIANS”
The Russian offensive in Ukraine enters its third week and the siege on kyiv tightens. Loud explosions were heard in the capital early Wednesday morning and plumes of smoke were visible from several places, AFP journalists confirmed.
In northern Ukraine, 10 people queuing to buy bread were killed in a Russian attack, according to prosecutors.
The inhabitants of the capital must respect a curfew until Thursday morning and the press is also not authorized to circulate. According to the municipal authorities, kyiv is experiencing a “dangerous moment”.
In recent days, Russian attacks against civilian targets in kyiv have intensified, as well as the siege of the port city of Mariupol, which is experiencing a dramatic lack of food, water and medicine.
Some 20,000 inhabitants of the city were able to be evacuated in recent days. Exhausted and trembling, they recounted terrifying journeys, amid decomposed corpses lying in the streets.
This Wednesday, the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia (south), a refuge for people fleeing Mariúpol and for now quite protected from the fighting, was also attacked.
The conflict in Ukraine has already forced more than three million people to leave the country, half of them children.
This Wednesday, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the highest court in the UN, ordered Russia to end its military offensive in Ukraine.
In the first high-level contact between Washington and Moscow since the invasion, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke Wednesday with Gen. Nikolay Patrushev, telling him Russia “should stop attacking cities and towns.” from Ukraine”.
For their part, the heads of the Russian Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, discussed the conflict in Ukraine on Wednesday and wished for a “just peace”.
“BLITZKRIEG”
For now, Western countries have chosen to isolate Russia diplomatically and economically. In other words, they have applied harsh sanctions that could lead Russia to a possible default on its debt.
Putin promised this Wednesday financial aid to individuals and companies to face the avalanche of sanctions and assured that the economic “lightning war” against his country failed.
This Wednesday, Russia must repay 117 million dollars in interest on two debt bonds, the first payment of a series scheduled in March and April.
Some $300 billion of Russia’s reserves are frozen in Western banks. The sanctions also forced Moscow to withdraw from several international political and sports forums.
As Moscow tightens its grip on reporting on the conflict, Russia’s telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked the pages of at least 30 media outlets and also blocked the BBC’s website.
