Zelensky says the 'future of European security' is being decided now in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the "future of European security is being decided now, here in Ukraine" in a news conference in Kyiv Wednesday.

Speaking alongside the Polish and Lithuanian leaders, Zelensky said: "We are unanimous in our assessment of the crimes of the Russian Federation. This is yet another act of aggression against Ukraine, its sovereignty, our territorial integrity."

Zelensky called for a tough regime of sanctions against Russia.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the US will sanction Russia's financial institutions and oligarchs. The United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia and Japan also announced fresh sanctions on Russia.

"The military presence of the Russian Federation on the occupied territory of Donbas has been hiding behind the separatist uniform," he said. "And now we see this is a unilateral departure from the Minsk agreements," he added, referencing Russia's announcement that the Minsk agreement — designed to bring peace to the eastern regions of Ukraine — no longer applied.

"This is an undermining of Ukrainian and international attempts to regulate the situation in the Ukrainian Donbas," Zelensky said. "The response of the international community to this crime should be decisive, immediate and harsh."

"We need to completely stop the Nord Stream project, which is a weapon that is already being used against Ukraine and Europe," he added.

Yesterday, Germany said it halted certifying the $11 billion 750-mile pipeline that connects Russia directly to Germany. The Nord Stream 2 project was completed in September but has not yet received the final green light from German regulators.

Standing next to Zelensky, Polish President Andrzej Duda said, "We are all walking the narrow path between peace and further stable development and war. Poland condemns Putin's decision about recognition."