“We are not afraid of anyone” – Ukrainian President

UKRAINE,SPAIN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered an early morning address on Tuesday, telling his country and the world that Ukraine is “committed to the peaceful and diplomatic path.”

Russia’s actions are in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, Zelensky said, and his country is “not afraid of anything and anyone. We don’t owe anything to anyone, we will not concede anything to anyone.”

Zelensky expects allies to provide “clear support” during this time, he said, and he’s requested an emergency summit with Russian, German, and French leaders. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that Zelensky and President Biden spoke about the situation for about 35 minutes on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Surging energy prices and fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine are making European leaders think hard about energy security – particularly their decades-old reliance on Moscow for natural gas.

The crisis shows Europe’s vulnerability after years of limited progress in completing an “energy union” – a 2015 vision to allow affordable gas and electricity to flow across borders while diversifying suppliers and reaching climate goals. With gas reserves low and concerns a war could interrupt pipeline flows from Russia, the European Union is focused on getting Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG, by ship from United States, Qatar, Algeria and elsewhere until renewables catch up. Environmentalists fear making that even a short-term priority could set back Europe’s goals to move away from fossil fuels. – PTI