Zelenskyy: It's crucial to respond to Russia so they feel price of their actions
Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine, and Europe needs to strengthen its defense capabilities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in an address to the participants of the European Council meeting on Wednesday.
"It is crucial to respond directly to Russia so that they feel the real price of their actions. We are counting on the early adoption of the 19th package of EU sanctions. It is almost ready – now only political decisions are needed. I urge you all to support it," Zelenskyy said.
According to him, this will also help our relations with the United States and with President Trump. "He wants to see Europe take action against Russia for this war. Decisive European action will strengthen the U.S. response. It is also very important that Europe limits purchases of Russian resources, especially oil. Pressure on Russian oil, tankers and financial systems that ensure energy exports weakens Putin and improves President Trump's attitude towards cooperation with Europe. Therefore, those who choose ties with Russia over America are going against both Europe and the United States. We recently discussed this with the American team, with President Trump. And we sincerely hope that the Hungarians will listen to these common signals from all of us," Zelenskyy said.
He stressed the need to create a "Drone Wall" as soon as possible, since drones are becoming the main weapon for armies and for criminal or terrorist groups.
"Another fact should be our joint readiness to protect our people and infrastructure. And the sooner we all implement the SAFE program together, the better," the president added.
He said Russia seeks to divide Europe, and recalled that European support for Ukraine has proven that Europe is much stronger than many expected.
"And the fact that we firmly resist Russian attacks during this war and rightly strike back when they attack our energy system proves that Russia is not as strong as it would like to seem. Therefore, we should not be afraid to build our own security models. Security guarantees for Ukraine, as soon as we implement them, will become a security model for other countries in Europe. And we are ready to be the driving force of this process together with you, dear partners. The same applies to the 'Drone Wall.' These are all parts of something bigger, something that Europe really needs," Zelenskyy said.
