Zelensky Bashes World Leaders, Accuses Them of Empty Rhetoric in Saying ‘Never Again’ to Genocide: ‘We Don’t Believe’ Their Words

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the international community of pushing meaningless rhetoric against genocide while Russia has been allowed to continue invading his country.

CNN’s Jake Tapper released his full interview with Zelensky on Sunday’s State of the Union, wherein the Ukrainian leader took questions on the sinking of the Moskva, the war’s progression, and the possibility of Russia using a nuclear weapon. As Zelensky spoke of the war’s horrific impact on civilians, Tapper asked him what he thinks now about the world’s promises to never let genocide happen ever again.

“You lost ancestors in the Holocaust,” Tapper said. “Every year on Holocaust Remembrance Day, politicians put out statements that say ‘Never Again, Never Again.’ Those statements must seem really hollow right now to you. When the world says ‘never again,’ do they ever mean it?”

Zelensky answered the question, mostly in English:

I don’t believe the world, after we’ve seen what’s going on in Ukraine. I don’t believe to this feeling that we should believe, some countries or some leaders. We don’t believe the words. After escalation of Russia, we don’t believe our neighbors. We don’t believe all of this. Even I don’t believe documents because we also had the Budapest Memorandum. I think you know all the details of this. For me, that is just a piece of paper, and costs nothing, and that’s it. So we just believe pragmatic things. If you are our friends or partners, give us weapons, give us hands, support us, give us money and stop Russia, kick Russia. You can do it if you’re a friend.

Zelensky added that actions will speak louder than words, saying through a translator, “everybody is talking about this, and yet, as you can see, not everyone has got the guts.”

Watch above, via CNN.