“We live at a time when Europe is unfortunately no longer a continent of peace, and at a time when Nazism is making a comeback,” Zelenskyy said. “Once again there are those who seek to divide Europe, who say that such or such peoples do not deserve to exist — all this is aimed at Ukraine today, but may be aimed at other countries tomorrow.”
The Ukrainian leader is in France for a visit planned around attending Thursday’s commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The day’s events saw world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden also use their speeches to draw parallels between World War II and Russian aggression today.
Zelenskyy had already called Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “Nazi” last month ahead of the May 9 Victory Day holiday in Russia, while the Russian leader has on multiple occasions justified his aggression against Ukraine by the supposed need to “de-nazify” the country.
In his address on Thursday, Zelenskyy also drew parallels between the Russian military’s alleged human rights abuses in Ukraine and the Holocaust.
“Once again in Europe, filtration and deportation camps are springing up and hatred is growing,” Zelenskyy told the French National Assembly which, in the last day of campaigning for the European election, was far from full.
Zelenskyy’s invitation to deliver a speech led to some criticism from opposition lawmakers, who viewed it as a political stunt by the pro-Macron camp ahead of Sunday’s vote. The president’s allies in the National Assembly hit back by saying that commemoration dates could not be moved around for political purposes.