Zelensky calls for global protests against Russia’s war
Published on: Friday, March 25, 2022
By: AFP
Ukrainian paramedics cover with the National flag the grave of their colleague Valentyna Pushych killed by Russian troops in a cemetery in Kyiv. (AP)
KYIV: Ukraine’s president made an impassioned plea for global street protests against Russia’s bloody month-old invasion and for democratic leaders amassed in Brussels for emergency summits on Thursday to send more advanced weaponry.In a late-night television address from the emptied streets of the besieged capital Kyiv, a defiant but visibly tired Volodymyr Zelensky appealed in English for the world to help ensure his nation’s survival.
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“The world must stop the war,” he said. “Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities, come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life.”
Addressing leaders of the G7, Nato and the European Union meeting in the Belgian capital, he called for a step-shift in weapons deliveries, including more advanced fighter jets, missile defence systems, tanks, armoured vehicles and anti-ship missiles.
“Freedom must be armed,” he said bluntly, as a heavily armed guard kept watch close by, a stark reminder that Zelensky’s own life, and the life of his nation, are in acute peril.
His appeal came exactly one month after Russian tanks rolled over the border, bringing a conflict that has already killed thousands of Ukrainian civilians, and thousands more soldiers on both sides.
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More than 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, as cities have faced sustained Russian bombardment from land, sea and air.
In the southern port city of Mariupol alone, 100,000 people are trapped without food, water or power and enduring fierce shelling by Russian forces.
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In the city’s hospital, local officials said staff have evacuated patients to the basement, where they are treated by candlelight beside 600 to 700 other residents seeking what little safety they can.
Experts say Russia’s once-vaunted military has been bogged down by dogged resistance and has turned to long-range bombardment in the hope of breaking Ukrainian resolve.
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