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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia must be held legally responsible for the “crime of aggression,” warning that rewarding Moscow would only encourage future wars.

Speaking after intensive talks in Berlin with members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s team, Zelensky stressed that justice must remain central to any peace settlement. He argued that sanctions and international legal mechanisms are essential alongside diplomacy and military support.

Zelensky said Russian war criminals must face accountability and warned against allowing those responsible for violence to move freely across Europe once fighting stops.

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Transcript
00:00Thank you so much.
00:13We are now in the midst of the most intense and focused negotiations for peace since the
00:22beginning of this war for true lasting peace and we are not talking about the pause or
00:30a temporary and certain solution.
00:34This Sunday and Monday in Berlin we held intensive, really intensive talks with President Trump's
00:42team and with Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, others members of the team and we are working
00:51in a great detail on documents that could stop the war and guarantee security.
00:57This is very important.
00:59And every single detail matters.
01:01Why?
01:02Because not a single detail must become a reward for Russia's aggression.
01:06If the aggressor receives a reward, he starts to believe that war pays off.
01:15That is why justice must be central to ending this war.
01:21This support, this approach, justice must not be pushed to the margins of diplomacy.
01:28And there was too little justice for Moldova.
01:30It's true.
01:31Too little.
01:32And for Syria and for many, many other countries, those wars dragged down.
01:38And today the problems are so difficult to solve.
01:41And we must show through Ukraine that Europe and the United States of America are capable
01:47of delivering real results in securing peace.
01:52And when the guns stay silent, when the drones stop killing, the law must still speak.
02:01Russian root causes should be returned to Russia.
02:05And it cannot be that war criminals travel freely across Europe or the world as if they were
02:12tourists.
02:13It cannot be that those who kill are suddenly treated as respectable partners.
02:21That is why sanctions matter.
02:24And that is why conventions and mechanisms of international justice exist and must work.
02:32Alongside diplomacy, defence support for Ukraine, support for our resilience, I ask you please
02:38continue supporting efforts to ensure legal accountability for the aggressor.
02:44So no matter how difficult it may be and no matter how long it takes Russia, Russian war criminals
02:52must be held accountable.
02:55And the Russian state must be held responsible for the crime of aggression.
03:00But one thing has remained the same.
03:03It keeps bringing war and hatred.
03:07And that's always something they claim must be given up so they can stop killing.
03:12Russia has invaded our home.
03:15It's destroying our cities, our villages, killing Ukrainians, our children.
03:22And at the same time, demanding that we give up parts of our land they haven't even managed
03:29to conquer.
03:32Russia keeps nearly a million strong, million strong occupation force on our territory.
03:40And yet it demands that Ukraine accept limits on our right to join alliances and on our sovereignty.
03:50It's not enough to force Russia into a deal.
03:54It's not enough to make it stop killing.
03:57We must make Russia accept that there are rules in the world and that it cannot deceive everyone.
04:07This is the path to lasting peace, the bloodshed, but to change the situation along Russia's borders so there is no opportunity to start another war.
04:17And we understand that criminals don't change in a day.
04:22Right now, European leaders have the decision on the table regarding frozen Russian assets.
04:29Most of these assets are allocated in Europe.
04:32And these Russian assets can and must be fully, fully used to defend against Russia's own aggression.
04:40The aggressor must pay.
04:43Russian assaults are always insanely bloody.
04:49But Putin does not care.
04:51Russians don't count their debt.
04:55But they do count every dollar and every euro they lose.
05:02That is why a strong decision on Russian money is needed.
05:06And these funds must work to defend against Russia.
05:09And I urge you to support this.
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