Russia must lose ability to ‘terrorize’ neighbors, says Ukrainian president

World  |
Editor : Gülcan Ayboğan

Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses Lithuanian parliament, says efforts on to record, investigate ‘war crimes’ committed by Russia

Russia must lose ability to ‘terrorize’ neighbors, says Ukrainian president

The Ukrainian president on Tuesday said that Lithuania has been among the first countries to come to Ukraine’s aid after the Russian attack, stressing that Russia must lose the ability to “terrorize” its neighbors.

“You remain among those who care most about peace and security in Europe,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address to the Lithuanian Parliament, according to Ukraine’s official news agency Ukrinform.

He went on to say: “Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has posed a strategic question to Europe: Are the values that underlie the unification of nations on the European continent after World War II still alive?”

He noted that Russia must lose the ability to “terrorize” its neighbors, adding that other countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Moldova could be next.

Zelenskyy underlined that efforts are going on to record and investigate “war crimes” committed by Russia in Ukraine.

“Almost every day new mass graves are found. Evidence is being gathered. Thousands and thousands of victims. Hundreds of cases of brutal torture,” he said, adding tied up, and mutilated bodies are still found in manholes and basements.

“Hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded, including underage girls, very young children ... And even a baby! It's just scary to talk about it now,” the Ukrainian president said.

He noted that a Russian paratrooper or special services officer, who filmed himself raping a baby and sent the video to comrades, is identified.

Zelenskyy said that mass deportations of Ukrainians from the occupied areas were carried out and they were placed in special filtration camps.

More than 4.6 million Ukrainians have fled their country since the start of the war on Feb. 24. Poland has taken more than 2.4 million of those people, with half of them still in the country.

Russia's war on Ukraine has met international outrage, with the European Union, US, and the UK, among others, implementing severe sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,842 civilians have been killed and 2,493 injured in Ukraine so far, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

WARNING: Comments that contain insults, swearing, offensive sentences or allusions, attacks on beliefs, are not written with spelling rules, do not use Turkish characters and are written in capital letters are not approved.