Freedom must be armed no worse than tyranny: Zelenskyy’s speech to the Norwegian parliament
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke via video link to the Norwegian Parliament on March 30, 2022.
Zelenskyy began his speech by noting that today was the 35th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Russian troops have gone on the offensive in three directions.
The insidiousness of Russian actions at sea deserves special attention. This is one of the biggest threats to international security that have emerged since the Second World War.
Ukrainian ports on the Black and Azov Seas have been blocked by Russia since the first day of their invasion. About a hundred ships cannot enter the Mediterranean Sea. Some ships were simply captured – this is piracy.
Zelenskyy stressed that the Russians had mined the sea. Now their mines are drifting in the sea, creating a danger. He noted that if the Russian mines are not cleared, it could bring disaster.
Then Russia will say again, as always, that it was not Russia. As Russia said repeatedly, when it killed critics of the Russian authorities in Europe or shot down a Malaysian Boeing in the sky over the Donbass.
The President stresses that the war is now not limited only to the borders of Ukraine, because not a single state since the Second World War and the Nazis has created such a threat to navigation as Russia.
Zelenskyy asked Norway to provide mobile anti-aircraft missile systems and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Freedom must be armed no worse than tyranny… I want to state clearly what we need. In particular, anti-ship weapons – Harpoon missiles, as well as NASAMS anti-aircraft systems. In addition, we need weapons for armored vehicles and artillery systems.
He promised that these weapons would only be used to protect “our freedom and your freedom“.