Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos: Putin's new alliance is against us all

– Russia can field one and a half million soldiers. Our armed forces number over 800,000 people. France is in second place with over 200,000. Then Germany, Italy and Great Britain. Everyone else has less. This is not a situation in which one country can defend itself, Zelensky said in Davos. – We all need to unite and change something – he appealed.

President Ukraine he recalled that North Korean soldiers are currently fighting “in places geographically closer to Davos than to Pyongyang.” They are located in the Kursk Oblast in western Russia, where they are fighting on the Russian side against the Ukrainian army.

Russia itself, according to Zelensky, is also transforming into something similar to North Korea. – In a country where human life does not matter, but they have nuclear weapons and a burning desire to make the lives of their neighbors miserable – said Zelensky.

He recalled that the leader of Russia Vladimir Putin “signed a new strategic agreement with Iran.”

– He already has an agreement with North Korea. Against whom do they make such agreements? Against you, against all of us. (…) These are their strategic priorities, and our priorities must meet this challenge – in politics, defense and economy. We can only face such threats together, Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president noted that the whole world is now considering the steps he will take Donald Trump was sworn in as US president on Monday.

– In times of war, everyone worries whether United States will remain with them. Every ally worries about this. But does anyone in the United States worry that Europe might one day abandon them and no longer be their ally? The answer is no. Washington does not believe that Europe can bring them anything really important, he said.

Zelensky said that European countries need a common security and defense policy. – And all European countries should be ready to spend as much on security as they really need, and not as much as they have become accustomed to doubting over the years (…) – he said.

He noted that it was unclear whether Europe would sit at the table for talks on ending or after the end of the war in his country. – Will President Trump listen to Europe or negotiate with Russia? China without Europe? Europe must learn to take full care of itself so that the world cannot afford to ignore it, he said.

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Zelensky also spoke in Davos about, among other things, security guarantees for Ukraine. – Europe deserves to be strong. And for this, Europe needs the European Union and NATO. Is this possible without Ukraine and without a just end to Russia's war against Ukraine? I'm sure the answer is no. Only real security guarantees for us will serve as real security guarantees for everyone in Europe, said the President of Ukraine.

He warned that the lack of security guarantees for Kiev would mean that Putin would return with an army ten times larger than the one he attacked Ukraine in 2022 to occupy all countries that were part of the Soviet Union.

– If Putin increased his military grouping to over 600,000, if there are no strong security guarantees such as NATO, and there is no military contingent, there are no weapons, then Putin will definitely return with an army ten times larger (…). And if he comes back, why? For the complete occupation of all countries that were once republics of the Soviet Union, Zelensky said.