Zelenski compares Ukraine’s situation with that of Latin America’s wars of independence 200 years ago

Follow the latest news on the war in Ukraine live.

The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has asked this Wednesday at the Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) for support from Latin American countries to face the Russian invasion, and has compared the Ukrainian situation with those of the wars of independence that most of the members of the OAS carried out 200 years ago.

“I read the pages of the history of the American continent and ask: whose side would Simon Bolivar be on in the war that Russia has started against Ukraine? Who would Jose de San Martin support? Who would Miguel Hidalgo sympathize with? I think they would not help someone who is plundering a smaller country,” the Ukrainian president assured during his speech.

In this regard, he has accused his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of having “deliberately” brought not only Ukraine but a multitude of countries “to the brink of starvation, through an artificial food crisis.”

Zelenski has therefore urged not to maintain business contacts with the Kremlin, while calling on them to support sanctions against Russia.

“Prevent your companies and countries from being connected with those individuals and legal entities in Russia through which it carries out its terror against Ukraine. Support sanctions against Russia to limit its business operations,” he has asserted.

On March 25, the OAS called for an end to possible “war crimes” in Ukraine in a resolution signed by 28 of the organization’s 34 members, ‘Zócalo’ newspaper has detailed.

It also suspended Russia’s permanent observer status in the body on April 21, a gesture for which Zelenski expressed gratitude during his speech.

704870.1.260.149.20221006075113