COPENHAGEN (The Thursday Times) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a stern address to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Copenhagen, drew a parallel between Hamas’ tactics in Israel and Russia’s actions in Ukraine. He implored the international community to band together to combat terrorism, which he depicted as a common evil plaguing both nations.
Zelenskyy made this comparison while addressing a session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, emphasizing that just like Israel, Ukraine too has been at the receiving end of terror, albeit from different perpetrators. He pointed out the similarities in the tactics employed by Hamas in Israel and Russia in Ukraine, illustrating a shared threat of terrorism that both nations face. His call for a united front against terrorism underscores a dire need for international cooperation to uphold peace and security.
He expounded on his comparison, stating, “The same evil, and the only difference is: there it is a terrorist organisation that attacked Israel, and here it is a terrorist state that attacked Ukraine,” underscoring the gravity of the threat that looms over both nations.
In his detailed narrative, Zelenskyy alluded to the experiences of Israeli journalists who had been in Ukraine and had witnessed the horrors unleashed by Russia, now witnessing similar terror unfold in their homeland at the hands of Hamas. He lamented the grim reality that terrorism, regardless of the perpetrator, wreaks havoc and disrupts peace, extending a call for a unified front to thwart such threats.
The stark comparison and Zelenskyy’s impassioned plea spotlight the broader narrative of the pervasive threat of terrorism that transgresses national boundaries. His address served as a clarion call for global unity and action against terrorism, underlining the shared experiences of Israel and Ukraine in the face of adversities posed by Hamas and Russia respectively.