Volodymyr Zelenskiy referenced Star Wars and the second world war as the Ukrainian president appeared as a hologram at a conference in Paris to seek aid from big tech firms.
He told a crowd of hundreds at the VivaTech trade show that he was offering technology firms a unique chance to rebuild Ukraine as a fully digital democracy.
He asked for help on the terms of lend-lease – the way in which the United States helped the Allies during the second world war, offering aid without payment but on the understanding that hardware would be returned.
