Date: Saturday, 24 January 2026
https://ericzuesse.substack.com/p/lies-in-zelenskys-davos-speech
https://theduran.com/lies-in-zelenskys-davos-speech/
Lies in Zelensky’s Davos Speech
24 January 2026, by Eric Zuesse. (All of my recent articles can be seen here.)
Ukraine’s leader (his Presidential term expired on 20 May 2024 and he cancelled the scheduled Presidential election, so he’s no longer legally Ukraine’s leader) Volodmyr Zelensky spoke to the Davos crowd at the World Economic Forum on January 23rd. His speech was 23:29 long, and it was immediately followed by a 40-second standing ovation and then 14 minutes of Q&A between him and the WEF’s President and CEO Brent Borge of Norway, which ending at 36:19 — and then the video simply repeats all of that and ends at 1:14:20.
Here is the video:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=25877416518551051
Here is the transcript:
After 13:55, it’s mostly repetitive; so, here will be, from the first 13:55 of the speech, the transcript, and I am adding my links to supply correctives at his specific lies [and sometimes I also add in boldface between brackets my general comments]:
https://archive.ph/rK8Pi the transcript from the WEF site:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine: Thank you. Thank you very much. Dear friends, everyone remembers the great American film, Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray and Andy McDowell, yes, but no one would want to live like that, repeating the same thing for weeks, months, and, of course, for years.
And yet, that's exactly how we live now. It's our life and every Forum like this one proves it. Just last year, here in Davos, I ended my speech with the words, Europe needs to know how to defend itself. A year has passed and nothing has changed. We are still in a situation where I must say the same words, but why?
The answer is not just about the threats that exist or may appear; each year brings something new for Europe and for the world. Everyone turned their attention to Greenland, and it's clear most leaders simply are not clear what to do about it, and it seems like everyone is just waiting for America to cool down on this topic, hoping it will pass away. But what if it will not? What then? [Which presents a bigger threat to EU countries: Russia winning in Ukraine? Or America winning in Greenland? Which would do more to reduce the sovereignty of each of Europe’s Governments? Which would do more harm to those countries’ economies? How much harm have the anti-Russia sanctions already done to these countries’ economies?]
There was so much talk about the protests in Iran, but they drowned in blood. The world has not helped enough the Iranian people [he is assuming that Iranians would be better-off with another U.S. stooge leader like the Shah and his torture chambers that the CIA installed after its 1953 coup in Iran, than under the rulers whom the 1979 extremely popular Iranian Revolution brought to power; and he is assuming that the CIA didn’t cause those recent demonstrations but instead the majority of today’s Iranians want the U.S. and Israel to overthrow and replace Iran’s elected Government.] and it's true, it has stood aside. In Europe, there were Christmas and New Year celebrations, the seasonal holidays, by the time the politicians came back to work and started forming a position, the Ayatollah had already killed thousands.
And what will Iran become after this bloodshed? If the regime survives, it sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people, and you stay in power. Who in Europe needs that message to become a reality, and yet, Europe hasn't even tried to build its own response.
Let's look at the Western Hemisphere. President Trump led an operation in Venezuela and Madura was arrested, and there were different opinions about it, but the fact remains, Madura is on trial in New York. [Zelensky is saying that this totally unprovoked U.S. invasion of Venezuela was good, but that European leaders are not united behind it and they should be uinnited behind it.]
Sorry, but Putin is not on trial [Zelensky says that Putin SHOULD be on trial for his invasion of Ukraine. However, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was a national-security necessity for Russians to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, just as much as JFK’s threats to Khrushchev that if the Soviets wouldn’t remove their missiles from Cuba, then the U.S. would need to invade and take over Cuba were a national-security necessity for Americans in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis; and, so, in both instances, JFK and Putin were in the same predicament, and the only difference between them was that whereas Khruschev removed his missiles, Biden refused Putin’s demand that Ukraine be excluded from being in America’s anti-Russian military alliance, NATO; so, if JFK was acting in American self-defense in 1962, then Putin was acting in Russian self-defense in 2022; and the invader who had actually CAUSED and STARTED this war was Obama in his hyper-bloody U.S. coup which took control over Ukraine in February 2014 — NOT Putin’s final 24 February 2022 invasion to stop that invasion against Russia from succeeding.] and this is the biggest war in Europe since World War Two, and the man who started it is not only free, he is still fighting for his frozen money in Europe. And, you know what, he is having some success. It's Putin, who's trying to decide how the frozen Russian assets should be used, not those who have the power to punish him for this war. Thankfully, the EU decided to freeze Russian assets indefinitely and I’m grateful for that, thanks Ursula, thanks Antonio and all the leaders who helped, but when the time came to use those assets to defend against Russian aggression, the decision was blocked. Putin managed to stop Europe, unfortunately.
Next point, because of America's position, people are now avoiding the topic of the International Criminal Court. It's the American historical position, but at the same time, there is still no real progress on establishing a special tribunal for Russian aggression against Ukraine, against the Ukrainian people. [Notice here, Zelensky says NOTHING about the ICC’s saying that Israel’s bombing and starving of what had been 2.1 million Gazans is ‘probably’ a genocide, and Netanyahu’s being legally responsible for it; Zelensky’s speech exludes all of the words “Israel,” “Palestin” and “Gaza”; but he DOES condemn Iran and the Ayatollah whom Netanyahu and Tump want to kill.] We have an agreement. It's true, many meetings have taken place, but still, Europe hasn't reached even the point of having a home for the tribunal with staff and actual work happening inside. What's missing: time or political will? Too often in Europe, something else is always more urgent than justice.
Right now, we are working actively with partners on security guarantees [He insists that after the war, Ukraine must have security guarantees from NATO countries — Russia’s enemies. It is obvious that Russians will NEVER accept any such thing — nor should they.], and I'm grateful for that, but those are for after the war ends. Once the ceasefire begins, there will be contingents and joint patrols and partner flags on Ukrainian soil, and that is a very good step and the right signal that the UK and France are ready to actually commit their forces on the ground and there is already a first agreement on that, Thank you, Keir, thanks Emmanuel, and all the leaders in our coalition. We are doing everything to make sure that our Coalition of the Willing truly becomes a coalition of action. And again, everyone is very positive, but always the backstop of President Trump is needed. And again, no security guarantees work without the US.
But what about the ceasefire itself? Who can help make it happen? Europe loves to discuss the future, but avoids taking action today, action that defines what kind of future we will have. That is the problem. Why can President Trump stop tankers from the shadow fleet and seize oil? But Europe doesn’t [Zelensky is saying that EU nations should hijack Russian ships like America hijacks Venezuelan ships.]; Russian oil is being transported right along European shores, that oil funds the war against Ukraine. That oil helps destabilize Europe [quite the opposite: it is sanctioned by the U.S. because it was far cheaper than the oil and gas that Europe used to buy from Russia; and now that Europe is no longer being allowed by America to buy it, and is instead paying three times the price to get U.S. oil and gas, the European nations’ economies are sinking.], so Russian oil must be stopped and confiscated and sold for Europe's benefit. Why not?
If Putin has no money, there is no war for Europe. If Europe has money, then it can protect its people. Right now, those tankers are making money for Putin and that means Russia continues to push its sick agenda.
Next point, I've said it before and I'll repeat it again, Europe needs united armed forces, forces that can truly defend Europe today. Europe relies only on the belief that if danger comes, NATO will act, but no one has really seen the alliance in action. If Putin decides to take Lithuania or strike Poland, who will respond? [Again, Zelensky says something that is obviously false: this time, that there is no difference between being a NATO-member nation, and not being a NATO-member nation.]
Who will respond? Right now, NATO exists thanks to the belief that the United States will act, that it will not stand aside and will help. But what if it doesn't? Believe me, this question is everywhere in the minds of every European leader and some try to get closer to President Trump, it’s true. Some wait, hoping the problem will disappear. Some have started acting, investing in weapons production and building partnerships, getting public support for higher defence spending, but let's remember, until America pressured Europe to spend more on defence, most countries were not even trying to reach 5% of GDP, the minimum needed to ensure security. Europe needs to know how to defend itself, and if you send 40 soldiers to Greenland, what is that for? What message does it send? What's the message to Putin, to China, and, even more importantly, what message does it send to Denmark, the most important, your close ally? [Zelensky here is saying that Trump’s taking Greenland would be like Putin’s taking Ukraine; but that too is obviously false, because Greenland is in NATO, and Ukraine is not. Furthermore: whereas Trump lies to allege that Americans cannot be safe unless America controls all of Greenland, Putin certainly does NOT lie when he says that Russians will be in enormous danger if Ukraine remains allied with ANY NATO-MEMBER NATION — all of them are treaty-committed AGAINST Russia; and committed to defend any other NATO-member nation that Russia might defend itself against by responding to an invasion from that other NATO-member nation.]
You either declare that European bases will protect the region from Russia and China [as-if either Russia or China has ANY desire to invade or to take over ANY European nation other than the one that is the nearest — only 300 miles — to The Kremlin; and how, pray tell, is China a threat against ANY European nation? Just like Iran, the answer is it isn’t.] and establish those bases, or you risk not being taken seriously, because 40 soldiers will not protect anything. And we know what to do if Russian warships are sailing freely around Greenland, Ukraine can help; we have the expertize and weapons to ensure that not one of those ships remains, they can sink near Greenland, just as they do near Crimea. No problem. We have the tools and we have the people. For us, the sea is not the first line of defence, so we can take actions and we know how to fight there, if we were asked and if Ukraine were in NATO, but we are not. We will solve this problem with Russian ships.
As for Iran, everyone is waiting to see what America will do and the world offers nothing. [Again, Zelensky is telling other European leaders and also Americans that Iran is their enemy — which is FALSE. Zelensky, though he is a far-right self-declared Jew like Netanyahu and most of Israel’s leaders are, and he carefully avoids making any reference to the largest genocide since the Holocaust, which Israel, America, and Germany, are perpetrating even now against the Gazans, Zelensky makes clear he thinks that Israel’s enemy Iran must be regime-changed — he gratuitously brings that non-European issue into his speech at this American-empire forum, perhaps in order to appeal to his fellow-Zionist, Trump.] Europe offers nothing and doesn't want to enter this issue in support of the Iranian people and the democracy they need. [So, it is clear that Zelensky wants regime-change in Iran and opposes regime-change in Israel. But why is he even MENTIONING that non-European conflict and thus distracting from his pretense to be a European like the other Europeans at this virtual NATO-member-nation Forum, the WEF — which declares itself to be a “World Forum” instead of a “Europe Forum? Why does such a person even get invited to speak there? Worse yet, why does he get a standing ovation there?] But when you refuse to help the people fighting for freedom, the consequences return and they are always negative. Belarus in 2020 Is the example. [That was a coup-attempt by the U.S. regime.] No one helped their people, and now Russian or ethnic missiles are deployed in Belarus, within range of most European capitals. That would not have happened if the Belarusian people had won in 2020. And, we have told our European partners multiple times, act now against those missiles in Belarus; missiles are never just decoration, but Europe still remains in Greenland mode. Maybe something, someone will do something.
The issue of Russian oil is the same. It's good that many sanctions exist. Russian oil is getting cheaper, but the flow has not stopped and Russian companies that fund Putin's war machine are still working and that will not change without more sanctions. [He is calling for yet more of the harm that America’s anti-Russia sanctions cause — via their secondary sanctions — against EU nations.] We are grateful for all the pressure put on the aggressor, but let's be honest, Europe must do more, so its sanctions block enemies as effectively as America.
Why is that important? Because if Europe is not seen as a global force, if its actions don't scare bad actors, then Europe will always be reacting, catching up with new dangers and attacks. We all see that the forces trying to destroy Europe do not face a single day. They operate freely, even operate inside Europe. Every victor who lives off European money while trying to sell out European interests deserves a smack upside the head.
And if he feels comfortable in Moscow, it doesn't mean we should let European capitals become little Moscow's. We must remember what separates Russia from all of us. The most fundamental line of conflict between Russia and Ukraine and all of Europe is this: Russia fights to devalue people, to make sure that when dictators want to destroy someone, they can, but they must lose power, not gain it. For example, Russia's missiles are produced only because they have found a way to bypass sanctions, it's true. Everyone sees how Russia tries to freeze Ukrainians. our people to death at minus 20 degrees Celsius, but Russia couldn't build any ballistic or cruise missiles without critical components from other countries, and it's not just China.
Russia gets components from companies in Europe, the United States and Taiwan. Right now, many are investing in stability around Taiwan to avoid war, but can Taiwanese companies stop contributing electronics to Russia's war? Europe says almost nothing, America says nothing and Putin makes missiles. [13:55]
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s latest book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.
