As part of his most recent talks with world leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed the German parliament to break down the new “wall” being built by Russia across Europe, trying to put in place a divide between Eastern and Western Europeans concerning the subject of freedom.
“Dear [German chancellor Olaf Scholz], tear down this wall,” pressed Zelensky, calling back on the famous speech from Ronald Reagan back in 1987 when the American president called on the then-President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to take down the Berlin wall.
“It’s not a Berlin Wall — it is a wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb,” exclaimed Zelensky, also sounding the call to Scholz to “give Germany the leadership role that you in Germany deserve.”
Zelensky then went on to argue that Germany was just far more concerned about its own economy than the safety and security of Ukraine in the lead-up to the kickoff of the Russian invasion.
“We turned to you,” exclaimed Zelensky. “We told you that Nord Stream was a kind of preparation for the war.”
“And the answer we got was purely economic — it is economy, economy, economy but that was the mortar for the new wall,” he claimed.
Zelensky also went on to speak of the slogan “never again,” which is a reference to the Holocaust.
“I address all of you who heard politicians say every year ‘never again,’ but I can see these words are worth nothing. Now, our whole nation is being exterminated in Europe, why?” claimed Zelensky. “I address the older people among you who have survived the Second World War, who were rescued during the occupation, who survived Babyn Yar, where President Steinmeier visited last year for the 80th anniversary of the tragedy, and where Russian missiles struck.”
“It was there that families were killed. Again, 80 years later,” Zelensky continued on. “You are also behind the wall, a wall that separates you from Ukrainians that are dying in Ukraine with every bomb that is landing on our land.”
Zelensky’s talks with Germany were markedly more critical than those similar talks given to both the American and British governments. Despite this, Zelensky did highlight the memory of September 11 and Pearl Harbor throughout his speech to the Congress of the United States, as part of his plea for a no-fly zone.
“Friends, Americans, in your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand Ukrainians, understand us now, when we need you right now,” started Zelensky in his address to Congress, as read from a translation. “Remember Pearl Harbor, terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,” pleaded Zelensky. “Just remember it, remember, September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn US cities into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air, just like nobody else expected it and you could not stop it. Our country experiences the same, every day, right now.”
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people,” stated Zelensky. “Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs they use drones to kill us with precision. This is a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for a reply for an answer to this terror from the whole world is there’s a lot to ask for to create a no fly zone zone over Ukraine to save people.”
“Is this too much to ask humanitarian no fly zone, something that Ukraine it that Russia would not be able to terrorize our Free Cities,” stated the President. “Is this too much to ask? We offer an alternative: you know what kind of defense systems we need. 300 and other similar systems, you know how much depends on the battlefield on their ability to use aircraft. Powerful, strong air aviation to protect our people with freedom or learn aircraft that can help Ukraine help Europe and you know that they exist and you have them but they are on earth not in Ukraine in the Ukrainian sky.”
“They don’t defend our people. I have a dream,” concluded Zelensky. “These words are known to each of you today. I can say I have a need. I need to protect our sky. I need your decision. Your help. Which means exactly the same. The same you feel when you hear the words. I have a dream.”