In his speech to the Security Council, Zelensky stresses the importance of his country's independence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed the importance of defending his country against Russian forces, during his speech to the UN Security Council.

"Today our country celebrates Independence Day, and everyone can see now to what extent the world depends on our independence," Zelensky said, via a video link, today, Wednesday, in front of the meeting held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Earlier today, Russia failed to prevent Zelensky from speaking before the Security Council.

Zelensky stressed that if Russia does not stop now, "Russian killers may end up reaching other countries - in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America... Russia must be held accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine."

Russia started the war on its neighbor Ukraine on February 24.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news