Do More to Help, Ukraine’s Defiant Zelenskiy Asks Britain

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
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Do More to Help, Ukraine’s Defiant Zelenskiy Asks Britain

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 6, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to Britain to do more to help his country fight Russia and to punish "the terrorist state" on Tuesday, striking a defiant tone that Ukraine would fight for its survival, no matter what the cost.

Addressing Britain's parliament and greeted by a standing ovation in a packed chamber of lawmakers, Zelenskiy documented the Russian invasion day by day, listing the weapons used, the civilians killed and those running out of food and water.

He thanked Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has sought to take a leading role in supporting Ukraine against Russia, for the help already offered, but said Britain and other Western countries had to go further, pressing on with more sanctions. He asked them to recognize Russia as a "terrorist state".

"The question for us now is to be or not to be," Zelenskiy told parliament via videolink.

"We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight to the end at the sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."

"Please increase the pressure of sanctions against this country (Russia) and please recognize this country as a terrorist state, and please make sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe... Please make sure that you do what needs to be done."

Zelenskiy has addressed his people and the world from Kyiv regularly since Russia invaded his country 12 days ago, in what President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation" to rid the country of leaders he characterizes as neo-Nazis.

The Ukrainian leader has kept up his appeals for the West to do more to help a country he says is not only fighting for its survival but also to save democracy across the whole of Europe.

Britain has become one of Ukraine's closest allies since the invasion, with Johnson speaking frequently to him by telephone and the two, according to some, enjoy a friendly relationship.



ICC Warrants are Binding, EU Cannot Pick and Choose, Borrell Says

23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
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ICC Warrants are Binding, EU Cannot Pick and Choose, Borrell Says

23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)

European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU's foreign policy chief said on Saturday.

The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged crimes against humanity.

All EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.

"The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It's not optional," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.

"It would be very funny that the newcomers have an obligation that current members don't fulfil," he told Reuters.

The United States rejected the ICC's decision and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.

"Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government - (they are) being accused of antisemitism," said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.

"I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That's enough."

Israel's 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly all the enclave's population while creating a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials say.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The warrant for Masri lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Israel says it has killed Masri.