Zelensky calls on French mayors to help Ukrainian cities in anticipation of winter
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has called on French mayors and
heads of municipalities to provide specific assistance to Ukrainian
cities and villages approaching winter.
"On the eve of winter, we are facing one of the greatest threats since
the beginning of all-out war. The Kremlin has set the task of continuing
the attacks on energy facilities to turn the cold of winter into a
weapon of mass destruction. With this, Russia wants to do to the entire
territory of Ukraine what it is doing to the occupied cities and
villages," he said on Tuesday, speaking via video link at the 104th
Congress of Mayors and Heads of Municipalities of France.
He appealed for help "to get through this winter and not allow Russia to
turn the cold into a tool of terror and subjugation." "We need many
things – from generators of various capacities to Starlinks. For us,
this is not just a matter of equipment. For Ukraine, this is protection
against terror," Zelensky said.
"We have clear agreements with President Emmanuel Macron. In particular,
about holding in early December a conference on the rapid
reconstruction of Ukraine already now – in accordance with our Plan for
the rapid recovery of Ukraine. And I invite all of you to join the
Conference and related efforts," he also said.
Zelensky noted that in total more than 3,700 cities, villages and towns
came under occupation in Ukraine. "Now we see one thing in all these
settlements – a complete lack of any opportunities to live normally and
freely. We managed to liberate more than 1,800 settlements from the
Russian occupation. And the consequences of the occupation are very
similar everywhere. The Russian soldiers mined everything they managed
to mine. The occupiers looted everything they managed to loot," the
president said.
"When Ukraine asks for help in this war, it is not just about the clash
of states - it is not just about the fact that Russia has come to take
our land and our resources, which it wants to appropriate. This is a
clash of two opposite attitudes towards people and towards life," he
said.
"When Russia comes to a city, nothing is left of normal life there.
Russia brings repression and abuse… When the Ukrainian flag returns to
the liberated territory, we do everything so that normal life returns
with it," Zelensky said.
That is why Ukraine, he said, is "so grateful to everyone who supports
us – our defense, finances, reconstruction. It is literally a
life-saving aid."
