Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on the world to tighten punitive sanctions against Russia as a warning to other countries that they face severe consequences if they turn to aggression to achieve their goals.
In delivering a keynote address on the first day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskiy told the gathering of some of the world's most influential business leaders that "preemptive, not reactive measures" need to be imposed to prevent similar invasions to Russia's unprovoked actions against Ukraine.
"I am thankful to you and your countries for being united in your support to Ukraine and efforts to punish Russia for the war it launched against our country. But I have to say it's only being done now, while we've been talking about the possibility of full-scale aggression by Russia since 2014. If the world's actions were preemptive, and not reactive, this war could have been prevented," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy said that the world faces a turning point in the face of Russia's actions and that failing to act resolutely enough would mean international companies would "be a part of war crimes committed by Russia."
"The sanctions must be maximum. That is what they should be so that Russia and every other potential aggressor that wants to launch a brutal war against its neighbor would clearly understand what consequences they will face right away as a response to their actions," Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy emphasized that his country needs more weapons to stand up to Russia, while diplomatic measures such as pushing all foreign companies to exit the Russian market, an embargo against Russian crude oil, the complete blocking of all Russian banks, and cutting off trade with Russia are needed to stop the war and send a message to other countries with similar aggressive aspirations.
“If we had obtained 100 percent of the weapons we needed at the very beginning [of the war] in February, tens of thousands of lives would be saved. This is why Ukraine needs all the weaponry that we are asking for and not just the ones that we have been supplied with," Zelenskiy added.