Russia’s real target is freedom in America and Europe despite a continuing war in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a candid speech at a defence university in Washington.

The Ukrainian president started his visit to the US to ask for more aid to fight off the Russian invasion of his country. As he said, Russia’s war on Ukraine is not “just about some old-fashioned dictatorship trying to settle scores, real or imagined”.

“He’s fighting Ukraine, but really, he’s up against all of free, united Europe. He’s wrecking everyday life in Ukrainian cities, but his real target is the freedom people enjoy from Warsaw to Chicago to Yokohama.

Russia had means to meddle with democracies worldwide. Putin’s got buddies in this – each one a threat to any free nation, to regional or global order, to human rights and democracy, be it Hamas, Iran, North Korea, or others. No accidents here, they’re all linked by their hate for freedom.

America and all free nations need to be confident in themselves, in their strength, in their leadership, so that dictatorships doubt themselves and their power to undermine freedom. When the free world hesitates, that’s when dictatorships celebrate, and their most dangerous ambitions ripen”, - said Volodymyr Zelensky.