Slovak MPs are applauding Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky after his address on May 10, 2022. (source: TASR)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to the Slovak parliament on May 10 was different from his previous ones in which he had addressed other parliaments around the world.
Unshaven and wearing a T-shirt, he indicated in 20 minutes how Slovakia could help Ukraine militarily in the next stages of Russia’s invasion. “Your help could continue with planes and helicopters.”Unshaven and wearing a T-shirt, he indicated in 20 minutes how Slovakia could help Ukraine militarily in the next stages of Russia’s invasion. “Your help could continue with planes and helicopters.”
However, unlike his speeches to the US Congress and parliaments in France or Israel, Zelensky did not shame or criticise anyone this time around. Instead, he showed gratitude and warned Slovakia.
“Freedom without power is futile. Several states could learn that from you,” he said, thanking Slovakia several times for military and humanitarian aid.
Here are the five most important statements made by the Ukrainian president to Slovakia and its lawmakers.
1| Europe and Slovakia will be next after Ukraine
“If we don’t stop them, they will come everywhere, even to Slovakia.”
Zelensky claims that Ukraine is at the “epicentre” of the struggle between the democratic European community and Russia’s “tyranny”. The president recalled what the Russian army had done in the town of Bucha and other places near Kyiv.
“Your Prime Minister Eduard Heger was one of the first of our foreign friends to witness it,” he said, referencing Heger’s trip to Kyiv in April. Russia wants not only to win, but also to “erase” all of Ukrainian civilisation and its culture, the president noted.
“This is evidenced by the theft, rape and destroyed schools,” Zelensky said. He tried to appeal to the government and MPs not to stop providing further aid to Ukraine. “The Russians want more and want to subdue us all,” he said.
2| Asking for more weapons
“Ukrainians will always remember how Slovakia provided them with weapons. But it could continue with planes and helicopters.”
The S-300 air defence system, mortar and other ammunition, aviation fuel and diesel, the Igla anti-aircraft hand-held system - all this Slovakia has already provided to Ukraine, for which Zelensky gave thanks several times.
At the same time, however, he added that “weapons are the first tool” in order for Ukraine not to be defeated and to prevent Russian aggression against other countries, including Slovakia.
He mentioned in particular the need to obtain aircraft and helicopters for defence.
Slovakia owns Soviet Mi-17 helicopters and MiG-29 fighters, which it is planning to ground soon. Slovakia’s airspace should be guarded by Poland. Ukraine is not interested in Slovak jet fighters, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said. He reiterated that Ukraine would take any help from Slovakia, including Slovak T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
Negotiations on the supply of Zuzana 2 howitzers are in the final phase, the minister said after Zelensky’s speech. State-owned enterprises and some private companies are also repairing damaged Ukrainian technology, he added.
3| Oil and gas are Russian tools of deception
“Ukraine has gone the way of making mistakes that Slovakia and Europe can avoid. Russian oil and gas must be rejected.”
It was former Ukrainian politicians who leased the seaport of Sevastopol in the Crimea to Russia for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The fleet then became strategically important in the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula.
In his speech, Zelensky described how Ukraine had built up dependence on Russia through advantageous supplies of cheaper gas and oil.
“They wanted us to pay less, and not so long ago we were the biggest buyer of gas,” the president went back to the 1990s and the 2000s in his speech. The price for this, according to Zelensky, was the creation of conditions to annex Crimea.
“Ukrainian politicians played and placed the Russian navy in our Crimea. It was just a cover for propaganda and the issuance of Russian passports to our people. The annexation then only had to be completed, which happened,” the president said.
It is difficult for Slovakia to give up Russian gas and oil, Zelensky admitted, because the country does not yet have a sufficient alternative from where to import fuels. However, he reminded MPs that oil and gas are, in particular, a tool for Russia’s power goals.
4| Ukraine’s future is in Europe
“Russia is trying to blackmail Europe with energy. Unity must be the reaction.”
President Zelensky reiterated Ukraine’s efforts to become part of the European community. “Be our voice in the European Union,” he asked Slovakia.
During the first days of the Russian invasion, President Zuzana Čaputová, Prime Minister Eduard Heger, but also analyst Alexander Duleba wrote a document to bring Ukraine closer to Brussels. Politicians from Slovakia were among the first to try to speed up the accession process for Ukraine.
Russia has targeted its missile attacks at Ukraine’s strategic infrastructure, including industrial zones and factories, Zelensky stressed.
5| Occupation of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
“1968 must not be repeated.”
At the end of his speech, Zelensky reached for a historical parallel. He briefly recalled how the Warsaw Pact troops, led by the Soviet Union, invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968 and remained on its territory for 40 years.
During his speeches in national parliaments, the Ukrainian president is known for seeking comparisons to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the history of the countries that he addresses. He spoke of the consequences of a nuclear disaster when speaking to Japanese lawmakers. Before the United States Congress, he spoke about the 9/11 attacks.
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