DAVOS
\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for \u201cmaximum\u201d sanctions against Russia during a virtual speech Monday to corporate executives, government officials and other elites on the first day of the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos.
\nHe said sanctions need to go further to stop Russia\u2019s aggression, including an oil embargo, blocking all of its banks and cutting off trade with Russia completely. He said that it\u2019s a precedent that would work for decades to come.
\n\u201cThis is what sanctions should be: They should be maximum, so that Russia and every other potential aggressor that wants to wage a brutal war against its neighbor would clearly know the immediate consequences of their actions,\u201d Zelenskyy said through a translator.
\nHe also pushed for the complete withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia to prevent supporting its war and said Ukraine needs at least $5 billion in funding per month.
\n\u201cThe amount of work is enormous: we have more than half a trillion of dollars in losses, tens of thousands of facilities were destroyed. We need to rebuild entire cities and industries,\u201d Zelenskyy said, coming days after the Group of Seven leading economies agreed to provide $19.8 billion in economic aid.
\nHe said that if Ukraine had \u201creceived 100% of our needs at once, back in February\u201d in terms of weapons, funding, political support and sanctions against Russia, \u201cthe result would be tens of thousands of lives saved.\u201d
\nZelenskyy\u2019s speech is a key focus Monday at Davos, the village in the Swiss Alps that has been transformed into a glitzy venue for the four-day confab ostensibly dedicated to making the world a better place. The event is resuming in person after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also delayed this year\u2019s meeting from its usual winter slot.
\nFor the attendees, there\u2019s much to tackle amid soaring food and fuel prices, Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, climate change, inequality and persistent health crises. But it\u2019s hard to predict if the high-minded discussions will yield substantial announcements that make headway on the world\u2019s most pressing challenges.
\n\u201cThis war is really a turning point of history, and it will reshape our political and our economic landscape in the coming years,\u201d said the event\u2019s founder, Klaus Schwab.
\nZelenskyy, who received a standing ovation after this remarks, reiterated that Russia was blocking critical food supplies, such as wheat and sunflower oil, from leaving its ports.
\nUkraine, along with Russia, is a major exporter of wheat, barley and sunflower oil, and the interruption of those supplies is threatening food insecurity in countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia that rely on those affordable supplies.
\nThe head of the U.N.\u2019s World Food Program said in a panel that \u201cthe failure to open the ports is a declaration of war on global food systems.\u201d He told The Associated Press that the region\u2019s farmers \u201cgrow enough food to feed 400 million people.\u201d
\nIf such supplies remain off the market, the world could face a food availability problem in the next 10 to 12 months, and \u201cthat is going to be hell on earth,\u201d WFP Executive Director David Beasley told the AP in an interview.
\nHe warned that there are \u201c49 million (people) knocking on famine\u2019s door right now in 43 countries,\u201d including Yemen, Lebanon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Congo, Guatemala and El Salvador.
\nBeasley called on the world\u2019s top mega-billionaires to aid efforts to prevent hunger: \u201cThe world is in real serious trouble. This is not rhetoric and B.S. Step up now, because the world needs you.\u201d
\nBesides Zelenskyy\u2019s speech, a sizable Ukrainian government delegation is attending in person, making their case for more Western support in the country\u2019s fight against Russia.
\nKyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko pointed to the audience during a panel with his brother, Wladimir, and said, \u201cWe are defending you personally.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are fighting, first of all, for values\u201d and to be part of the democratic world, Vitali Klitschko said. \u201cAnd right now everyone has to be proactive because we pay for that \u2014 the biggest prize, human lives every day.\u201d
\nRussian officials have not been invited to Davos this year, with what was dubbed the \u201cRussia House\u201d having been transformed by critics \u2014 including Ukrainian tycoon Victor Pinchuk and the country\u2019s Foreign Ministry \u2014 into what they call the \u201cRussia War Crimes House.\u201d The venue features photos of crimes and cruelties that Russian forces are accused of perpetuating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DAVOS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for \u201cmaximum\u201d sanctions against Russia during a virtual speech Monday to corporate executives, government officials and other elites on the first day of the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos. He said sanctions need to go further to stop Russia\u2019s aggression, including an oil embargo, blocking all of its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[338,1756,7627],"class_list":{"0":"post-262272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-russia","9":"tag-sanctions","10":"tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy"},"yoast_head":"\n