Ukraine’s first lady on Tuesday addressed the elite conclave of political and business leaders in a bid to rally support as her country readies for a second year at war.
Speaking from the stage in the Swiss resort town in Davos, Olena Zelenska pointed out that Russia’s unprovoked invasion had “traumatised” families across the country.
She urges the World Economic Forum audience to imagine the war through the “eyes of the people whose lives have been brought into chaos.”
“Picture the ‘parents who are crying in an ICU as doctors fight for the life of their wounded child’ or the farmer who cannot return to work the land due to the danger of mines.
“We are facing the collapse of the world as we know it,” Zelenska said, arguing that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, threatened to overrun borders beyond Ukraine.
“You are all united by the fact that you are really influential.
“But not all of you are using this influence, or sometimes you use it in a way that divides even more,” she said.
There is a large contingent of Ukrainian officials at Davos this year, including First Deputy Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko.
President Volodymyr Zelensky was scheduled to address the forum on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s first lady dpa/NAN…
