May 5, 2024
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “maximum” sanctions against Russia during a virtual speech Monday to corporate executives, government officials and other elites on the first day of the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos.
He said sanctions need to go further to stop Russia’s aggression, including an oil embargo, blocking all of its banks and cutting off trade with Russia completely. He said that it's a precedent that would work for decades to come.
“This is what sanctions should be: They should be maximum, so that Russia and every other potential aggressor that wants to wage a brutal war against its neighbor would clearly know the immediate consequences of their actions," Zelenskyy said through a translator.
He also pushed for the complete withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia to prevent supporting its war and said Ukraine needs at least $5 billion in funding per month.
“The amount of work is enormous: we have more than half a trillion of dollars in losses, tens of thousands of facilities were destroyed. We need to rebuild entire cities and industries,” Zelenskyy said, coming days after the Group of Seven leading economies agreed to provide $19.8 billion in economic aid.
He said that if Ukraine had “received 100% of our needs at once, back in February" in terms of weapons, funding, political support and sanctions against Russia, “the result would be tens of thousands of lives saved."
“This war is really a turning point of history, and it will reshape our political and our economic landscape in the coming years,” said the forum's founder, Klaus Schwab.
Besides Zelenskyy's speech, a sizable Ukrainian government delegation is attending in person, making their case for more Western support in the country’s fight against Russia.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko pointed to the audience during a panel with his brother, Wladimir, and said, “We are defending you personally.”
“We are fighting, first of all, for values” and to be part of the democratic world, Vitali Klitschko said. “And right now everyone has to be proactive because we pay for that — the biggest prize, human lives every day.”
Russian officials have not been invited to Davos this year, with what was dubbed the “Russia House" having been transformed by critics — including Ukrainian tycoon Victor Pinchuk and the country’s Foreign Ministry — into what they call the “Russia War Crimes House." The venue features photos of crimes and cruelties that Russian forces are accused of perpetuating.
