If the Russian army is not stopped now, during the war in Ukraine, they will repeat their atrocities committed in Bucha, Borodyanka and other cities, in all countries they can reach.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned it in his appeal to the authorities and people of Slovakia. He thanked Slovakia for all the assistance it had provided to Ukraine.
"Your decisiveness proves that freedom without power is just nonsense, and nothing more. It would be good if other states learned this from you," he said.
The President pointed out that Russia initiated the war in fact against the whole of united Europe, starting only with Ukraine. Against all those who just want to choose for themselves which unions they should join. Thousands of Russian occupiers' crimes against civilians - murder, torture, rape and looting - have been recorded in the Kyiv region. It is noted that the Russians tried to destroy everything that has not only to do with the Ukrainian national idea, but also simply with culture. The occupiers even destroyed schools.
"We are at the epicenter of the confrontation of two ideas: the European democratic idea that everyone's life and freedom are important, and the cruel tyrannical idea that only the person is important who can subdue other people," he said.
According to the Head of the state, there are three aspects to stopping Russia.
"The first and the most important method to win this confrontation is weapons. Ukrainians will always remember how Slovakia provided what really helped us at a decisive time. And there are prospects to continue this cooperation, in particular on aviation, aircrafts and helicopters. ", the President added.
Zelenskyy pointed out that there are enough defenders for the Ukrainian land, but we need more help in the sky.
"The second method is sanctions against Russia. Together with our army, sanctions create a truly reliable protection for the European idea. Now the European Union is approving the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. And this is the necessary package, including energy limitation," he said.
President Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine understands the difficulty of abandoning Russian oil from Slovakia. However, he reminded how the Russians offered us cheap gas and favorable conditions. Not so long ago, Ukraine was one of the biggest destinations for Gazprom, and finally it caused the fact that we depended not only on Russian gas, but also on Russian political decisions. And any attempts to switch at least on market supply conditions ended in gas wars and bondage.
"We were the first to notice the Russia`s violation of agreements when they simply stopped liking them. We noticed how Russia used commercial connections as a chain to keep any country close to itself. The Russian Black Sea Fleet was used to seize Crimea. And now Russia is blocking the sea for us and attacks our cities with missiles. Russia is trying to use gas now to subdue the entire European continent," Zelenskyy said.
The President mentioned the future of the European Union as the third aspect. The President urged to give Ukraine a real opportunity now, in the conditions of war, to join the European Union for better unification of the EU.
To remind, Poland has expressed its willingness to protect Slovak airspace if the country stops using Soviet MiG-29 fighters. In early April, Slovakia said it would consider providing Ukraine with aircrafts to protect itself against Russian invasion. But it needs to arrange the defense of its own airspace. After Russia's full-scale invasion, Slovakia has provided significant air defense assistance to Ukraine by sending its S-300s.