Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “tear down” the wall separating Europe, drawing parallels between the Cold War-era Berlin Wall and Ukraine’s current position outside the European Union and NATO.
Addressing the German MPs via video link, Zelensky said: “A wall separates us. This is not a Berlin wall, this is a wall in the middle of Europe between freedom and slavery, and this wall is getting bigger with every bomb that falls on Ukraine, with every decision not made for the world that could help us. Why is this happening?”
Zelenskiy compared the Cold War-era Berlin airlift to the current situation in Ukraine, saying: “The airspace was safe then, but now we can’t build an airbridge because Russian bombs and missiles are falling from the sky.”
Earlier in his address to the German Bundestag on Thursday, the Ukrainian president also explicitly referred to the post-Holocaust motto: “Never again.”
“Every year politicians say never again. Now I see that these words are worth nothing. People are being destroyed in Europe,” Zelensky said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky receives applause before he addresses the German Bundestag live on March 17 in Berlin, Germany. (Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images)
Some context: The appeal to German lawmakers is Zelenskiy’s latest appeal to the Western parliament after speeches by video link in the US Congress, the British House of Commons and others. In each speech, he specifically refers to his audience, such as quoting Pearl Harbor and 9/11 for the Americans and repeating Winston Churchill for the British.
“We asked what Ukraine could do to join NATO to guarantee its security, and we were told that the decision was not yet on the table,” Zelensky told the Bundestag, adding that the refusal to allow Ukraine to join the EU was like laying new bricks. added to the wall.
Zelenskiy also denounced German businesses for their close ties to Russia, adding that the economic sanctions came too late.
He acknowledged that Ukraine, however, is grateful to ordinary Germans who supported the country, including “journalists who report the truth and show the evil that Russia has brought to us.”
“I am grateful to those who can see through walls,” Zelensky said, ending his speech to applause and urging Scholz to “destroy this wall.”