16:57 29.06.2022

Russian leadership sees world as ‘Leningrad backstreet’ – Zelensky at NATO summit

2 min read
Russian leadership sees world as ‘Leningrad backstreet’ – Zelensky at NATO summit

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Sweden and Finland joining NATO, noting that the Russian leadership sees the world as a "Leningrad backstreet".

"While democratic states were calling on the Russian leadership to reason and morality, Russia was accumulating power and missiles. You, the democratic leaders, have called on it to respect international law, and tyrants understand only force. Nothing but force!" he said on Wednesday, speaking via video link at the NATO summit.

According to him, "Ukraine welcomes the decision to join Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance. And it's good that it happened now - before Russia started acting against them as well. But is Russia doing something against them now in connection with this decision? No, it isn’t. And you see it."

"The Russian leadership has publicly stated that the Leningrad backstreets have taught them the rules of life. There, any attempts of dialogue and appeasement are perceived only as weakness and fear. There is no one to call to talk to when you need to strike back. You either win or you lose. This is how the Russian state sees the world now. And you cannot ignore this vision, you cannot avoid its true goals," Zelensky said.

According to him, artillery strikes on cities are explained by the fact that "the Russian army is doing everything so that as many people as possible leave the cities. So that there would be nothing but ruins. And then the so—called "second army of the world" enters these cities - already empty and dead."

"And it does not want to stop either in Donbas or anywhere in the south of Ukraine, it wants to absorb everyone in Europe, whom the Russian leadership considers its property, and not independent states, city by city. This is the real goal of Russia," Zelensky said.

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