Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at the Munich Security Conference. He has a lot of complaints about the West

Brief summary

We appreciate any help, but we will not bow down for it: it was not Milan that was hit by Grads, but Mariupol, we became the shield of Europe, and no one else. Since 2014, Russia has been convincing us that no one is waiting for us in Europe. Isn't it time for Europe to say: "They are lying, we are waiting for you in the European Union"? The same goes for NATO. In 1994, Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons for the sake of security. Now we have neither weapons nor security. If the Budapest meeting never takes place, we will consider ourselves free from the obligations of that time. Ukraine needs effective security guarantees, we demand them.

If we expect war every day, if I as president declare it, what will happen in the country except panic? What will happen to the economy? They tell us: carry out reforms, improve governance, fight corruption - and we will help you. There are 150 thousand foreign soldiers near our borders. Maybe you will do something about this fact, and then demand something from us?

I had a conversation with a foreign leader some time ago. They told me that Russia would definitely invade in a few days. I said, "Implement sanctions." They said, "When the war starts." I said, "But you are 100% sure!" Impose sanctions on Russia now, before the war starts, they won't help us later. At least publish the list so that Russia knows what it is threatened with.

I don't know what the Russian president wants, so I offered him a meeting. I wasn't afraid to leave Ukraine because I'm sure it's in good hands, and not just mine.

This is a rough summary of Volodymyr Zelensky's speech at the Munich Security Conference; not all of the speech is verbatim, and most of the remarks have been edited.

Retold by Dmitry Kartsev

Cover photo: Johanna Geron / AP / Scanpix / LETA