Zelensky urges tougher Russia sanctions, invokes LKY in address

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing world leaders and senior defence officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He revealed that his T-shirt with the image of a girl spray-painting a Ukrainian flag of blue and yellow was a made-in-Singapore print.

- Lok Jian Wen

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday reiterated his calls to tighten sanctions on Russia and President Vladimir Putin as he addressed world leaders and senior defence officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Speaking in his native Ukrainian language from a “secret location” in capital city Kyiv, he said the Russian army had “killed dozens of thousands of our people and deported thousands more to its territory”.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 in what it calls a “special military operation” to demilitarise its neighbour.

Wearing a black T-shirt with the image of a girl spray-painting a Ukrainian flag of blue and yellow – which he revealed to be a made-in Singapore print – Mr Zelensky also invoked Singapore’s founding prime minister in his virtual address, which lasted a little over 10 minutes.