Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy used the Davos summit on Monday, May 23 to appeal for more weapons for his country and “maximum” sanctions against Moscow.

Speaking by videolink, Zelenskyy told the World Economic Forum that tens of thousands of lives would have been saved if Kyiv had received “100 per cent of our needs at once back in February” when Russia invaded Ukraine.

“This is why Ukraine needs all the weapons that we ask (for), not just the ones that have been provided,” said Zelenskyy, flanked by Ukrainian flags and wearing an olive green T-shirt.

Zelenskyy proposed an oil embargo on Russia, as well as punitive actions against all of its banks and a boycott of the country’s IT sector, as well as the expulsion of all foreign enterprises.

While the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada have moved to prohibit Russian oil and gas, the European Union is split on the issue. Germany and Hungary, for example, are significantly reliant on Russian energy imports.

The conflict in Ukraine is dominating conversations in Davos, the first World Economic Forum conference in over two years.

The Covid-19 pandemic necessitated the cancellation of the in-person event in 2021, as well as the postponing of this year’s conference until May.