Seoul, July 14 (UNI) Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska made an emphatic appeal on Thursday for unflagging global solidarity behind her country’s struggle against Russia’s aggression, stressing the “democratic values of the entire world” are at stake in the prolonged conflict. In an exclusive written interview with Yonhap news agency, Zelenska cautioned against any apathy toward the war touched off by Russia’s February 24 invasion and delivered an impassioned message: “Do not get used to the war.”
“I would like to emphasize that there is no place for a neutral position in this war,” the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “You cannot dismiss it as something distant and irrelevant, because this war threatens not only Ukraine but also the democratic values of the whole world.”
She then stressed Ukraine is in need of “everything,” ranging from humanitarian aid and weapons to assistance for its post-war reconstruction.
The interview came as global attention appears to have relatively diminished compared with the initial stage of the war when the entire world was acutely aghast at the biggest conflict on European soil since the end of World War II in 1945.
Zelenska accentuated the importance of media attention, saying, “Indifference kills (people) indirectly.”
As part of her plea for Seoul’s support, Zelenska drew a comparison between South Korea’s experience of the 1950-53 war and the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, saying the two countries have “a lot in common.”
“You, like us, know what it’s like to live next door to a neighbor who constantly threatens not only you, but the entire world with nuclear weapons,” she said.
“In the 1950s, the Western world came together to help South Korea win its war for freedom. Now the Western world has also united around Ukraine.”
Since the outbreak of the war, Zelenska has been at the vanguard of efforts to spread information about the devastating repercussions of Russia’s invasion and drum up global backing for Ukraine’s grueling fight against an invading Russia and for its post-war.
