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tv   Ukrainian President Addresses Congress  CSPAN  March 16, 2022 1:11pm-1:33pm EDT

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>> thank you. ms. pelosi: good morning. good morning, mr. president. good morning, madam ambassador who is with us this morning, madam ambassador. ambassador makarova. mr. president, it is my honor to present to you the congress of the united states, which has great respect and admiration and appreciation for your courageous leadership. members of congress i have the high privilege and distinct
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honor of presenting to you the president of ukraine, volodomyr zelensky. [speaking ukrainian] [applause] >> glory to heroes. thank you very much. madam speaker, members of the congress, ladies and gentlemen. americans. friends. i am proud to greet you from ukraine from our capital city of kyiv, a city that is under missile and air strike from russians every day but it doesn't give up.
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and we have not even thought about it for a second. just like many other cities and communities in our beautiful country, which found themselves in the worst war since world war ii, i have the honor to greet you on behalf of the ukrainian people, great and freedom loving people, who for years have been resisting russian aggression. those who give their best sons and daughters to stop this full-scale russian invasion. right now the destiny of our country is being decided. the destiny of our people.
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russia has attacked not just us, not just our lands, not just our citizens. it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values, using tanks against our freedoms against our freedom to live freely in our own country, choosing our own future. against our desire for happiness. against our desire for -- against our national dreams. just like the same things you have, you americans. i remember mount rushmore, the faces of your presidents, of the united states of america. democracy, independence, freedom for every, for every person for
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everyone who works diligently, who lives honestly who respects the law. we in ukraine want the same for our people. that is a normal part of your own life. ladies and gentlemen, friends americans, in your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand ukrainians, understand us now when you need it right now. when we need you right now. remember pearl harbor. terrible morning of december 7 1941 when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. just remember it. remember september 11. a terrible day in 2001 when evil
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tried to turn your cities independent territories in battlefields. when innocent people were attacked -- attacked from air. yes. just like no one else expected it, you could not stop it. our country experiences the same every day. right now at this moment, every night for three weeks now, there are ukrainian cities, russia has turned the ukrainian skies into a source of death for thousands of people. russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at ukraine. bombs. they use drones to kill us with precision.
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this is a terror that europe has not seen -- has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for an answer to this terror from the whole world. is this a lot to ask for, to create a no-fly zone over ukraine, to save people? is this too much to ask, a humanitarian no-fly zone? something that russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities. if this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. you know what kind of defense systems we need and other similar systems. you know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft, powerful, strong aviation to protect our people our freedom, our land. aircraft that can help ukraine help europe. and you know that they exist and you have them.
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but they are not in the ukrainian sky. they do not defend our people. i have a dream, these words are known to each of you. i have a need. i need to protect our skies. i need your help, which means exactly the same. the same words you feel when you hear, i have a dream. ladies and gentlemen, friends ukraine is grateful for the united states for its overwhelming support, for everything that your government and your people have done for us, for weapons and ammunition for training, for finances, for leadership in the free world which helps us to pressure the aggressor economically. i'm grateful for president biden for his personal involvement. call for his sincere commitment for democracy all over the
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world. i'm grateful for you for the resolution which recognizes all those who commit crimes against ukraine, against the ukrainian people as war criminals. however, now it is true in the darkest time for our country for the whole europe, i call on you to do more. new packages of sanctions are need constantly, every week until the russian military machine stops. restrictions are needed for everyone whom this regime is based. we propose that the united states sanction all politicians in the russian federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those responsible for the aggression against ukraine. from state duma members to the
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last official who does not break state terror. all u.s. companies must leave russia from their market, leave their market immediately because it is flooded with our blood. ladies and gentlemen, members of congress, please, if you have companies in your district who finance the russian military machine, leaving business in russia, you should put pressure. i'm asking to make sure that the russians do not receive a single penny that they used to destroy people in ukraine. the destruction of our country the destruction of europe, all american ports should be closed for russian goods. this is more important than income. we have to defend this principle in the whole world. we already became part of the anti-war coalition, that unites
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many countries, many countries. those who reacted in principle to president putin's decision toin vaid our country. but we need to move on and do more. we need to create new tools to respond quickly. and stop the war. the full-scale russian invasion of ukraine which began on february 24. and it would be fair if it ended in a day, in 24 hours, that evil would be punished immediately. today, the world does not have such tools. the war of the past has prompted our predecessors to create institutions that should protect us from war. but they, unfortunately, don't work. we see it, you see it, so we
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need new ones, new institutions new alliances, and we offer them. we propose to create an association. new 24. united for peace. a union of responsible countries that have the -- to stop conflicts immediately. provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours. if necessary, even weapons. if necessary, sanctions humanitarian support, political support, finances, everything you need to keep the peace and quickly to save the world, save lives. such association, such unions provides assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, manmade disasters who fell victim to a humanitarian crisis or an epidemic. remember how difficult it was for the world to do the simplest things. just to give vaccines. vaccines against covid to save lives, to prevent new strains.
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the world spent months, years doing things like that much faster to make sure there are no human losses. no victims. ladies and gentlemen, americans if such alliance would exist today, we would be able to save thousands of lives in our country. in many countries of the world those who need peace, those who suffer inhumane destruction. i ask you to watch one video, a video of what the russian troops did in our country, in our land. we have to stop it. we must prevent it, prevent and destroy every single aggressor who seeks to subjugate other nations. please, watch the video.
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president zelenskyy: and in the end, to sum it up, today -- today it is not enough to be the leader of peace, today thb the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.
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peace in your country doesn't depend anymore only on you and your people. it depends on those next to you and those who are strong. strong doesn't mean weak. strong is brave and ready to fight for the right of its citizens and citizens of the world. of human rights, for freedom for the right to live peacefully and to die when your time comes. and not when it's wanted by someone else. by your neighbor. today, the ukrainian people are defending not only ukraine. we are fighting for the values of europe and the world. in the name of the future. that's why today, the american people are helping not just ukraine but europe and the world to keep the planet alive. to keep justice in history.
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now i'm almost 45 years old. today my age stopped when the hearts of more than 100 children stopped beating. i see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. and this is my main mission as a leader of my people. brave ukrainians. and as the leader of my nation i'm addressing president biden. you are the leader of the nation. i wish you to be the leader of the world. being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. thank you. slava ukraini. glory to ukraine.
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[applause] thank you for your support. >> c-span has unfiltered coverage of the u.s. response to russia's invasion of ukraine, bringing you the late fles president and other white house official, the pentagon and the state department, as well as congress. we also have international perspectives from the united nations and statements from foreign leaders. all on the c-span networks.
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the c-span now free mobile app, and c-span.org/ukraine. our web resource page where you can watch the latest videos live or on demand and follow tweets from journalists on the ground. go to c-span.org/ukraine. >> the u.s. house is back at 3:00 p.m. eastern to vote on whether to advance the two bills they started work on today. one would end forced arbitration in employer consumer and civil rights cases meaning plaintiffs would have the right to sue in court rather than be forced into arry traition. the other would prohibit discrimination on hairstyle and hair texture in employment and housing accommodation. when the house returns we'll have live coverage here on c-span.

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