Ukrainain President Volodymyr Zelensky drew parallels between the violent occupation of his country by Russian troops with Germany's painful Cold War history of division in a speech in Berlin on Tuesday.
Zelensky cited those divisions to underscore the need for Ukraine and the country's European supporters to continue fighting against the ongoing Russian invasion.
"Divided Europe was never peaceful. And a divided Germany was never happy," Zelensky said in a speech to Germany's parliament.
"And that's why you can understand us, the Ukrainians. You can understand why we are fighting so hard against Russia's attempts to divide us and to divide Ukraine. Why we are doing everything, simply everything, not to allow a wall between the parts of our country. No country should be condemned to have barbed wire tearing its body apart for decades. "
Zelensky also addressed an upcoming Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland in his remarks on Tuesday, saying that he hoped there would be progress toward an eventual deal to end the conflict.
"We want to give diplomacy a chance," Zelensky said. "Ukraine has never relied solely on the strength of its weapons."
Russia was not invited to participate in the gathering in Switzerland and the Kremlin has dismissed the talks as meaningless.
Earlier on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he hoped the conference could lay groundwork for eventual talks that might include Russia.
