March 16, 2022

Invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, Zelenskyy Issues Extraordinary Plea for Help

Addressing Congress, he reiterated his call for a no-fly zone but also suggested alternatives, such as military aid.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

In an unprecedented video address from the besieged capital of Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with Congress to help his country by protecting Ukraine’s air space, supplying it with weapons and equipment, and imposing stronger sanctions on Russia. 

Zelenskyy reiterated his call for the United States and NATO to implement a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine. Invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the Ukrainian president told lawmakers, “Today, I can say I have a need, I need to protect our skies.”

However, he also seemed to acknowledge that the possibility of a no-fly zone was unlikely, given that it would essentially bring American pilots into direct conflict with the Russian air force and violate one of Putin’s red lines, courting the possibility of widespread war within Europe or even the exchange of nuclear weapons. 

“If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative,” Zelenskyy said, going on to request “powerful, strong aircraft” to protect Ukrainian land. He also urged legislators to send aid directly to Ukraine and to ensure that companies in their districts withdrew from the Russian market. 

During his speech, Zelenskyy urged Americans to recall the panic sparked by the attack on Pearl Harbor and the September 11 terrorist attacks. “Our country experienced the same every day,” he said. “Right now. At this moment, every night for three weeks now.”

To conclude, Zelenskyy switched from Ukrainian to English, calling directly on President Joe Biden to become the “leader of the world.” 

“Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace,” he said. 

Watch Zelenskyy’s full speech here.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate