Zelenskyy Pleads With Biden To Choose Peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded lawmakers of some of the biggest tragedies in U.S. history as he pleaded with them for more help Wednesday.

Zelenskyy addressed Congress virtually from Kyiv as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. The Ukrainian president thanked the U.S. for its support but said more is needed.

“Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,” Zelenskyy said. “Remember Sept. 11, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields. When innocent people were attacked from the air.”

“Our country is experiencing the same every day, right now, at this moment. Every night for three weeks now,” he continued, as he tried to relate with Americans on what Ukraine is going through while reminding the U.S. what being under attack was like.

Zelenskyy requested once again that the U.S. establish a no-fly zone, which the administration has repeatedly said they would not do.

Even as he pressed for a no-fly zone, Zelenskyy acknowledged that the U.S. has said they would not do it. He also suggested an alternative option during his address, asking for surface-to-air missile systems that would allow Ukraine to protect its sky.

Zelenskyy pushed for more sanctions as well, asking that President Joe Biden’s administration blacklist all Russian politicians. He also pleaded with all American companies to leave the Russian market.

During his address to Congress, the Ukrainian president played a video for lawmakers featuring viral photographs and clips of the devastation going on in Ukraine.

The video showed dead women and children, bodies being thrown into mass graves, buildings that had been destroyed, and more. The video concluded with a request to “close the skies.”

Zelenskyy ended his speech with a direct plea to Biden: “Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,” Zelenskyy declared.