Zelenskyy in Davos: Russia was prompted to invade by Western warnings to Ukraine not to escalate the conflict

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Guardian highlights the main points made by the Ukrainian president.

He began his speech with a strong condemnation of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

A full-scale war in Europe has been going on for almost two years, but it has been 10 years since Russia annexed Crimea.

Russia has also been intervening in African countries for many years, he adds, and the Syrian war is still going on, almost 13 years old.

One man has stolen at least 13 years of peace from the world, replacing it with pain and crisis that has affected the entire world.

Putin is trying to normalize something that should have ended in the 20th century, Zelensky continues. This means mass deportations, cities razed to the ground, and the feeling that the war will never end.

Putin will never change, Zelensky emphasized, adding that "the madness that lives in this man's head" must not prevail.

Zelensky then touches on the risk of further conflict spreading, asking which European state today can provide such a capable army compared to Ukraine's that will deter Russia.

It is better to end Putin and his military strategy now, he adds.

It was a big mistake to tell Ukraine not to escalate the conflict with Russia by not responding to Moscow's moves over the years.

He argues that Russia was driven to military action by warnings to Ukraine not to escalate the conflict.

Because of this "not to escalate", lives were lost, Zelenskyy says.

He also notes that there were fears of escalation in the Black Sea, but in the end, 16 million tons of cargo were transported from Ukraine's ports.

How can one rejoice in sanctions against Russia if they do not prevent missile production, he adds, saying that every missile launched contains components from Ukraine's allies.

Zelenskiy insists that he is, of course, grateful for every package of support. But he emphasized that Putin must be made to regret invading Ukraine:

"The more money Putin and his allies lose, the more he will regret this war. We need to finally dispel the illusion that global unity is weaker than one person's hatred."