Zelenski advocates the "employment" of Crimea as a milestone for the whole of Europe

Dozens of international leaders call for pressure on Russia to renounce the "temporary" annexation of the peninsula

MADRID, 23 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has advocated this Tuesday before dozens of international leaders for the "employment" of Crimea, an objective for which his government continues to work more than eight years after the annexation of this peninsula to Russia and that, in his opinion, it would be "a historic step against the war in Europe".

Zelensky has headed the Crimean Platform, a diplomatic initiative with which kyiv wants to highlight the situation of a peninsula that, for Ukraine, "is not just a territory, it is not just a token in the geopolitical game."

"For Ukraine, Crimea is part of our people, of our society," said Zelensky, who has gone back in time to recall that the conflict between kyiv and Moscow did not begin in February this year, the day his counterpart Vladimir Putin gave the order to start a military invasion.

The "degradation" of Russia, according to Zelensky, began with the seizure of Crimea in 2014. The Ukrainian leader has been grateful that "many people around the world" did not remain "silent then, but at the same time he has warned that there were other that they remained silent, "pretending not to realize what was happening".

"And that, in my opinion, has been one of the main reasons for everything that is happening now in Ukraine and in the world," he lamented, without pointing to anyone in particular.

Zelensky has also stressed that the peninsula is, today, a key point for the offensive of the Russian forces, to the extent that some 750 cruise missiles have been launched from Crimea that "have destroyed hundreds of civilian targets".

However, he has emphasized that "Crimea was and is Ukrainian" and, as such, "will be part of the European Union" in the future, once Ukraine completes an accession for which there are still no deadlines.

The virtual summit this Tuesday, heir to another held in August 2021, has served Ukraine to achieve the explicit support of fifty international leaders for its demands. For all of them, the annexation of Crimea was "illegal" and a violation of the Ukrainian territorial integrity.

They urge in a joint statement to put an end to the "temporary" occupation of the peninsula and criticize the use of Crimea as a military base to attack other targets in southern Ukraine. They call on Russia to fulfill its international obligations and ask, in the meantime, to maintain "pressure" on Moscow.