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Ukraine’s Zelensky address Canada’s parliament, asks for more support in war
The Ukrainian president asked for greater help from its “steadfast” supporter Canada, reiterating its request for closing down the country’s airspace
In an emotional address to Canada’s parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the initial assistance from the country and the sanctions it has imposed on Russians and Russian entities, but once again reiterated the demand that partner nations need do more, including closing down the Ukrainian airspace.
“Please close the sky, close the air space, please stop the bombing. How many more cruise missiles must fall on our cities?” he said, exhibiting visible frustration over a demand that has gone unmet thus far, as he virtually spoke to a packed parliament, comprising of members from the House of Commons and the Senate.
Zelensky made clear his disenchantment with the level of support that Ukraine has received so far with partners asking Kyiv to “hold on a little longer” and some people “talking about avoiding escalation”. At the same time, he said there was “no clear answer to our aspiration of become a member of Nato”.
Among those who have taken a position of not militarily confronting Moscow has been Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was present at the address, and, in fact, introduced the Ukrainian President prior to his speech. On March 4, Trudeau said, “The thing that we have so far avoided, and will continue to need to avoid, is a situation in which Nato’s forces are in direct conflict with Russian soldiers. That would be a level of escalation that is unfortunate.”
Zelensky described Canada as a “steadfast” supporter and a “reliable partner” and welcomed the actions it has taken, but added, “We see, unfortunately, this did not bring the end to the war”, adding, “You all need to do more to stop Russia, to protect Ukraine, by doing that to protest Europe from Russian threat.”
The Ukrainian president spoke of the full-scale aggression launched by Russia over the last 20 days and drew attention to the fact that the attack had claimed the lives of 97 Ukrainian children.
“We’re not asking for much, for justice, for real support which will help us to defend (Ukrainian territory),” he said, in an address in Ukrainian, which was simultaneously translated for the audience, which included members from all of Canada’s federal parties, and leaders of each of those parties spoke in support of Ukraine.
In his introductory remarks, Trudeau assured Zelensky of Canada’s “unwavering” support in its efforts against the Russian aggression.
Earlier this month, Trudeau completed a visit to Europe on this matter and that covered stops in four countries - United Kingdom, Latvia, Germany, and Poland.
