Russia 'repeated fascism,' Zelensky says as war in Ukraine outlasts Nazi Germany's war with USSR
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine entered its 1,418th day on Jan. 11, the same number of days that Nazi Germany fought the Soviet Union during World War II, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address.
Zelensky marked the occasion by comparing Russia's tactics in Ukraine to those of the Nazis, saying Moscow is replicating 20th-century fascism.
"Russia's large-scale war against Ukraine has been going on for as long as Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union," the president said. "Today marks the 1,418th day of Russia's war against Ukraine. They wanted to repeat and did repeat the mockery of people — repeated fascism, repeated almost all the worst things that happened in the 20th century."
Despite Russia's years-long campaign of aggression, the Kremlin has failed to achieve its military goals, Zelensky said.
"But still, the Russians are trying to capture the same Donbas as almost four years ago," he pointed out.
"They want to lie again that they have taken Kupiansk, are dying endlessly in the fields of Zaporizhzhia, and are still fighting against a united Ukraine. ...This says a lot about the system (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has built."
Zelensky called on the U.S., Europe, and other allies to combine forces to continue pushing back against the Russian threat.
"Every day of war is a reminder that the world cannot protect itself from madmen," he said.
Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, its invasion of the Soviet Union, on June 22, 1941. The ensuing vast and deadly land war — sometimes referred to as the Eastern Front or the Great Patriotic War — lasted approximately 1,418 days, until Germany's surrender on May 9, 1945.
While Ukrainian officials have been working closely with U.S. representatives in recent weeks on a draft peace agreement including postwar security guarantees, Russia has consistently refused to budge on its maximalist aims.
Zelensky said on Jan. 4 that Ukraine is actively pursuing diplomacy, but is prepared to continue fighting if the peace deal fails and is drawing up plans for ongoing defense.
