Zelensky invokes Pearl Harbor, 9/11 in plea to US Congress for no-fly zone

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses US Congress, where he repeats his request for a no-fly zone but says that if that cannot be granted then his country needs systems to prevent attacks.

“I am proud to greet you from Kyiv, a city that is under missiles and airstrikes from Russian troops, but does not give up,” he says.

Zelensky refers to the Founding Fathers of the United States and the values that they gave to the American people.

“We in Ukraine want the same for our people,” Zelensky says.

The Ukrainian president also refers to the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks, “when innocent people were assaulted from the air and you could not stop it.”

“Our country is experiencing the same,” he says.

“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for many people,” he says, asking for a no-fly zone.

“If that is too much, we need systems [to prevent attacks],” he says.

He is introduced by US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who says she has the “high privilege and distinct honor of presenting” the Ukrainian president.

“Slava Ukraini,” says Pelosi, using the Ukrainian national slogan.