Ukraine’s First Lady Tells Davos Elites: You Must Do More to Support Kyiv

Ukraine’s first lady flew into the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual gathering in Davos on Tuesday, leading a push by President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government to secure more battlefield weapons to defend against Russia’s invasion.

Olena Zelenska used the opportunity afforded by a special address to warn that Kyiv and its forces are all that stands between Russian aggression and a new nuclear disaster along the lines of Chernobyl, while scolding foreign government representatives to do more to help her embattled country.

Speaking in Ukranian, Zelenska told delegates to act as Russia’s invasion nears the 11-month mark.

Special Message from @ZelenskaUA, First Lady of Ukraine #wef23 https://t.co/7M2FJePYSz

— World Economic Forum (@wef) January 17, 2023

“You are all united by the fact that you are really very influential. But there is also something that separates you – and that is that not all of you are using this influence or sometimes you use it in a way that divides even more.”

Global cooperation is needed, Zelenska continued, as Russia’s aggression in Europe is creating a major crisis and the world faced collapse as a consequence.

She questioned what world we have when state borders start to collapse, telling delegates: “We are facing a threat of the collapse of the world as we know it, the way that we are accustomed to it or to what we aspire.

‘”What can be life in a world where tanks are allowed to strike at nuclear power stations? What will happen to inflation when state borders start to collapse and the integrity of countries will be trampled on by those who want it?

“What will happen to the cost of living when millions – not million but tens of millions – of people will be forced to flee mass starvation and will become refugees.”

Zelenska’s speech came after she told CNN through an interpreter on Sunday that despite Russia missile strikes that have pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian areas in recent months, “we understand that upon carrying on for a year, we are capable of persevering for even longer.”

Analysts warned that U.S. military support for Ukraine has pushed U.S. military stockpiles to "dangerously low levels." https://t.co/IgOfzlbXeD

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 2, 2022

The Ukrainian diplomatic push in Davos confronted global government officials as it clamours for weapons like tanks and anti-rocket defenses as well as greater pressure to further isolate and squeeze Russia’s economy.

France, the UK, the U.S. and other nations are vowing to send increasingly powerful weapons to Ukraine, such as tanks and armoured combat vehicles, as Breitbart News reported.

Zelenska asked Congress for more U.S. air defence systems as she visited Washington for a week in July and met U.S. first lady Jill Biden at the White House.

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