Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, solicits assistance from the tech community during a surprise appearance at Web Summit

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Zelenska described technology as a “battlefield” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said technological devices such as drones and missiles were being used to “kill people,” not save them.

“Russia is putting technology at the service of terror,” she said.

While some in the crowd held Ukrainian flags, Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski, urged those present to come up with ideas to “stop terror, save people and restore what has been destroyed.”

“You can help us stop the list of terror victims from growing longer,” she said. “I believe that this technology is the future … if it is not, there is simply no future to look forward to.

Russian forces entered Ukraine in February to eliminate what Moscow calls dangerous nationalists and protect Russian speakers. Kiev calls Moscow’s military action an unprovoked imperialist land grab.

The conflict has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions and reopened Cold War-era rifts.

“They (Russia) are attacking our power plants, there are blackouts all over the country … Now every day we have no electricity for hours, no communication and no Internet,” Zelenska said.

She said her country is no longer able to invest in high technology, such as schools, because it has to buy generators instead. More than 70,000 participants are expected to attend the summit, which opened Tuesday. Among the more than 900 speakers are Brad Smith, the vice chairman of Microsoft Corporation, and Changpeng Zhao, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave told Reuters last week that 59 Ukrainian startups will participate in the event. Mykhailo Fedorov, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister who also heads the Ministry of Digital Transformation, will also speak.

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