Zelenskyy calls on OSCE conference participants to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them
It is necessary to completely block the Russian military machine, and confiscate Russian assets and use them to serve peace, not just freeze them, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"We need to completely block Russia's military machine, cut off its military industry, limit its energy profits, and finally use all frozen Russian assets, including stolen wealth through corruption, to protect against Russian aggression. It is time to seize Russian assets, not just freeze them. Seize them and use them to serve peace, not war," Zelenskyy said during an online speech marking the 50th anniversary of the OSCE Helsinki Final Act on Thursday.
The president noted that one of Putin's main ideas is that Russia is no longer part of Europe, because the borders are where it wants them to be.
"This is a complete denial of the world after World War II. And this is the basis of the current regime in Russia. And we in Europe must defend ourselves from this in the long term. And we will defend ourselves," he added.
According to Zelenskyy, the Russian Federation has seized a huge territory, but its real potential is much smaller than that of Europe. He thanked Finnish President Alexander Stubb for supporting Ukraine and helping to establish ties with US President Donald Trump.
"President Trump is really interested in ending the war, and we must do everything possible so that the US and Europe act together in the interests of security. I thank all European leaders, every country that helps our defense, our air shield, our resilience," the head of state emphasized.
He expressed confidence that "the day will come when Ukraine will live in true peace, when we will not wake up every night from air raid sirens, when we will restore security and constitutional order in the territories that are currently occupied, when Russia will be forced to recognize its real borders," he summed up.