"The war against Ukraine is also a war against democratic Europe, its system of values and its unity. I have been repeating this since the first day of aggression."

This is what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

He said that it is "absolutely unacceptable", after 3 years of war, to change the narrative of who is the "aggressor" and who is the "victim" and to shift the responsibility for the duration of the war onto Ukraine.

"It is perfectly clear that the world is facing the establishment of a new geopolitical order. But we must not accept this new order to be based on violence and the right of the strongest. This is a fateful moment for Europe. It will either stand even stronger in defence of Ukraine, in defence of world peace, international law and multilateralism, or it will lose the essence of its existence," Zelensky said.

His words came after an acrimonious dispute arose between him and his US counterpart Donald Trump during his visit to the White House. The Republican accused the Ukrainian leader of "risking a third world war". | BGNES