President Zelensky canvasses Africa’s support in war against Russia

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky says African countries should be unanimous in their support for his country in the ongoing war against Russia. 

Zelensky, who stated this while speaking at a recent interview with journalists from Africa, on how African countries can support Ukraine, said the situation does not call for nations to take neutral positions, considering the far-reaching consequences of the war.

What exactly did Zelensky say?

President Zelensky told the African Journalists that they should understand and the world should also know that Russia is waging a colonial war against Ukraine.

He revealed that the war is going on absolutely and only in Ukraine territory, adding that what Russia is doing in his country is the same as Racism as well as Nazism, and a new word has been coined for its practice which he called “Ruscism”.

“Nazis believed that there was only one great nation-Aryan_ and this wrong belief led to a great tragedy. The same thing happens with Ruscism. They believe that there is a ‘Russian world’. They do not respect us, and they do not respect our territories, our people, or our language.

“They believe that we do not exist- that 40 million people do not exist. They believe we are wrong Russians. A great tragedy of capturing other territories, people, torture, and deportation of children is happening…” he said.

How can Africa be of help?

Zelensky also stated that Africa and Ukraine are similar in many ways and what happened on the African continent is still happening elsewhere which the world has for a long time not cared about. In his words:

“it’s not a faraway war. What is happening in Ukraine has been happening for many years in many places on the African continent. This injustice is absolute, and the security infrastructure of the whole world needs to be changed. These International Institutions need to be changed for them to work. And we stand for it.

“Today we are living examples of the world security system being broken. And we invite everyone to repair it, to guarantee security for Ukraine. This experience can then spread to other continents and states that lack security and peace.”

On how Africa can be of help, the Ukrainian President said he wants to expand ties because it is very important to them, and he also wants to find various areas to invest in, adding that with the input from African leaders, issues such as food crisis which has had a significant effect on African countries can be addressed.

“People in some countries of the African continent may wonder: if the world did not help us, then why should we help Ukrainians now? They should support us now because they know how it hurts when the world does not pay attention to your problem, war, or poverty,” he said.

It will be recalled that in April when the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, 58 countries-including African countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, and the Niger Republic- abstained from participating in the exercise.