Zelensky at U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing: Putin's state must be condemned in same way as Nazism

He said this in his address to the participants of the U.S. Helsinki Commission's hearing on "Holding Russia Accountable for War Crimes Against Ukraine: Lessons from Nuremberg, Ukrinform reports.

"No war can be truly ended without bringing to justice those thugs responsible for sparking this war, killing and torturing, deporting children and adults, and who attempted to brutally extinguish the flames of freedom and resistance in occupied territories. […] Let there be no obstacles on the path to justice! Just as Nazism was condemned, Putin’s state must face the same fate," Zelensky said.

He also thanked the Helsinki Commission and everyone supporting its work for organizing this crucial hearing.

According to him, this event is significant not only for the Commission's efforts, nor is it solely about our shared goal of holding all Russian war criminals accountable.

Zelensky stressed that today, the hearings take place in the same room where, after World War II, justice helped lay the foundations for a new and lasting protection of life and human rights.

"In Courtroom 600, the site of the groundbreaking Nuremberg Trials of Nazi officials, American Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson delivered his famous opening statement. And it’s terrible news that even after so many years and lessons, humanity must revisit the Nuremberg principles to punish a new, large-scale Russian evil following Hitler's footsteps. But, on the bright side, it' good news that there are still those ready to return to these principles and administer justice," he said.

He added that the unity of the world works for the good of our nations and all the people in the world.

"First human rights fall, then wars arise. This is a fact. And it should become a universal truth that a real, honest, and reliable end to the war cannot happen without fully restoring justice for all those whose rights and lives have been shattered by the war," Zelensky said.

He noted that there is no crime against humanity and life that Putin's Russia and those serving its insane dictator have not committed.

"The world has seen Ukrainian cities and villages burned to the ground by the Russian army. Everyone has at least heard about the mass killings that inevitably follow the Russian flag across occupied territories. It is impossible to reconcile with the pain of families torn-apart by Putin’s war and the deportation of Ukrainian children. We know the names of nearly 20,000 children who have been deported. And this is likely just a part of the larger number – potentially hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children could have been deported. Children whom Russia refuses to return to their families and homeland, children who are now being taught to hate liberty," Zelensky said.

He said that "we must also not forget about millions of Ukrainians surviving under the Russian occupation, deprived of even the most basic human rights."

Therefore, according to him, Russia must be condemned in the same way as Nazism was once condemned.

Zelensky said that Putin places himself alongside Hitler, justifying his actions in the Second World War. He is trying to plunge the entire free world into the same suffering he has brought to Ukraine and our people, Zelensky added.

"Various nations have united to help stop Russia’s aggression. And I thank every nation, every leader, and all political figures worldwide who are helping to protect Ukraine. You are truly on the right side of history," he said.

Zelensky also addressed "everyone who can hasten the arrival of a real peace – a peace that will free all Ukrainians from Russian domination across our entire land."

"A peace that, like after World War II, will be based on condemning the war criminals and their ideology. A peace that will ensure a happy and safe life for generations to come. We can bring such peace – together, in unity, and with all the support needed," he said.

Zelensky thanked each and everyone in the United States who cherish freedom just as Ukrainians do, and President Joe Biden and his administration, and everybody in the U.S. Congress who helps, and all Ukraine's partners worldwide.