Zelenskyy calls for support from Austria, accuses Russia of 'harbouring cyber criminals'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for increased support from Austria, highlighting that the Russian blockade of his country's seaports threatens to trigger famine. Making a virtual address to Austrian residents and politicians late on Thursday, he accused the Kremlin of jeopardising global cyber security and harbouring hackers-an accusation long made by the West. Notably, Zelenskyy's remarks came at a digital festival after Austrian lawmakers rejected his proposal to appear in the country's parliament. 

Speaking at the 4Gamechangers digital technology and media festival in the Austrian capital of Vienna, Zelenskyy asked the chancellery to strike their stance against the Russian Federation. He called for an increase in sanctions against the Kremlin, underscoring that the Russian blockade of the Ukrainian port threatened to trigger famine and a migrant exodus. Interestingly, Putin, earlier this week, denied that his troops were blocking grain exports to Ukrainian ports. He also called on the European continent to reduce its dependence on Russia. 

"Just look at the prices of fuel, gas, etc. What is happening to them? Markets are too dependent on Russian companies, Gazprom and Russian oil suppliers. And therefore, the wallets of Europeans are too dependent on how much one state wants to extract from them. One state cannot break the lives of everyone in Europe or even in the whole world! This game needs to change!," Zelenskyy asserted. 

Russia spends millions to spread lies

The Ukrainian leader also accused the Putin Administration of harbouring cyber criminals and jeopardising global cyber security. "I'm sure you're all aware of how big corporations disregard people's right to privacy and appropriate a lot of data about each individual. But... What can you oppose it with when the largest state in the world does this and even much worse?" he questioned. 

Addressing the crowd in Vienna, Zelenskyy also stressed that Moscow was running a full-fledged misinformation campaign by bankrolling state-owned broadcasters to spread its propaganda. According to the Ukrainian leader, the Kremlin spent a gigantic amount of money on state-owned media, which in return spread lies.  

"What kind of trust in mass media will we be able to talk about over time, if Russia continues to spend billions of dollars annually to spread lies, and these lies remain in the information space even of the European Union?" he told the participants at the Vienna forum.

(Image: Ukrainian Presidency)