Ukraine’s president said Wednesday he wanted to “take back our land” in Ukraine and “punish all crimes” committed by the Russian army since the war began more than 500 days ago.
Kiev will not be content with “freezing” the front against Russian troops and intends to regain all occupied territories, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the second day of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
“We want to win back our country, restore security on our territory, achieve the return of people who had to leave the country” and “punish all Russian crimes,” he stressed.
“This is a victory” and “a frozen conflict is not a victory,” he added.
“We will not flinch!”
Throughout the day, Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeated his messages of gratitude for the “tremendous help” Ukraine has received from Western leaders who are members of NATO.
After sharply reproaching the leaders of the alliance on Tuesday for failing to set a timetable for his country’s integration into the organization, the Ukrainian leader attempted to smooth things over on the final day of the summit.
“Thanks very much. You, all Americans, Congress (…) You have been with us since the first days of this war. We’re very sensitive to that,” he began in a one-on-one speech with his American counterpart.
“We will not bow down!” warned Joe Biden in a speech at Vilnius University, stressing that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to “break” the Atlantic Alliance had failed.
“The future of Ukraine lies in NATO,” he said shortly before. But in the meantime, “we will help (the Ukrainians) build strong defense capabilities on land, sea and air,” he said, before praising the courage of this country, which is an example “for the whole world”.