Category: Attack on Ukraine

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, at the G20 Summit on 15 November 2022.

Dear President Widodo!

Dear colleagues! The world’s majority, which stands with us!

I address you in Ukrainian, but in front of each of you on the table you will find our proposals. In your language. In demonstration of respect for you.

I have just returned to our capital. Returned from the city of Kherson.

Kherson is one of the key cities in the south of our country and the only regional centre that Russia managed to occupy after February 24.

And now Kherson is already liberated.

What does it mean? For Ukraine, this liberation operation of our Defence Forces is reminiscent of many battles of the past, which became turning points in the wars of the past.

Those battles symbolized such changes, after which people already knew who will be victorious even though the ultimate victory still had to be fought for.

It is like, for example, D-Day – the landing of the Allies in Normandy. It was not yet a final point in the fight against evil, but it already determined the entire further course of events. This is exactly what we are feeling now.

Now – when Kherson is free.

To liberate our entire land from the Russists, we still will have to fight for a while longer… To fight! However, if the victory will be ours in any case, and we are sure of it, then shouldn’t we try to implement our formula for peace to save thousands of lives and protect the world from further destabilizations?

That is why I want to present our vision of the path to peace – how to actually achieve it. And not only for us, but also for all of you, your allies and partners.

In my statement in September of this year at UN General Assembly, I presented Ukraine’s formula for peace. A formula of peace for the world.

Just when the world was hoping to recover from the blows of the pandemic, the Russian war provoked a whole series of new global challenges. This must be stopped!

There is a set of solutions that need to be implemented. And I want the conversation about it to be public, not behind the scenes. I want it to be discussed in specific terms, and not in broad strokes.

Maybe I’ll go over the allotted time limit.

But the issue of peace is worth it.

I want this aggressive Russian war to end justly and on the basis of the UN Charter and international law. Not “somehow” – according to the apt formulation of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Ukraine should not be offered to conclude compromises with its conscience, sovereignty, territory and independence. We respect the rules and we are people of our word.

Ukraine has always been a leader in peacekeeping efforts, and the world has witnessed it. And if Russia says that it supposedly wants to end this war, let it prove it with actions.

Apparently, one cannot trust Russia’s words, and there will be no Minsks-3, which Russia would violate immediately after signing.

If there are no concrete actions to restore peace, it means that Russia simply wants to deceive all of you again, deceive the world and freeze the war just when its defeats have become particularly notable.

We will not allow Russia to wait it out, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilization.

I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.

So, here are the proposals of Ukraine:

The first is radiation and nuclear safety.

No one has the right to blackmail the world with a radioactive disaster. This is an axiom.

However, in front of the eyes of the whole world, Russia has turned our Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant into a radioactive bomb that can explode at any moment. Where will the radiation cloud go? Perhaps towards the territory of the EU. Maybe to Türkiye. Maybe to the Middle East. I consider as criminal even a hypothetical possibility of such a scenario!

Radiation safety must be restored. The IAEA has already provided respective recommendations, confirming all the risks that we have repeatedly raised. Therefore, Russia must immediately withdraw all its militants from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The station must be immediately transferred to the control of the IAEA and the Ukrainian personnel. The normal connection of the station to the power grid must be restored immediately so that nothing threatens the stability of the reactors.

We proposed that IAEA missions are sent to all Ukrainian nuclear plants – four of them, 15 nuclear units in total. Plus the Chornobyl plant, which has been shut down and is under conservation. Such missions can verify that any hostile activity against Ukrainian nuclear facilities has indeed ceased.

How long does it take to implement it? Russia can begin the demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP as early as tomorrow if it is really ready to restore the radioactive safety it violated.

The same goes for the crazy threats of nuclear weapons that Russian officials resort to. There are and cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail. And I thank you, dear G-19, for making this clear.

However, please use all your power to make Russia abandon nuclear threats. The basis for such efforts can be the Budapest Memorandum and respective capabilities of the signatory states.

The second challenge is food security.

Thanks to the strong participation of the UN, Türkiye and other partners, we have demonstrated how the cooperation of a few can restore food security for the many.

I believe our export grain initiative deserves an indefinite extension – no matter when the war ends.

The right to food is a fundamental right of every person in the world.

Since July, Ukraine has exported over 10 million tons of food by sea. We can increase exports by several million tons per month. Thus for this I propose to expand the grain export initiative to our other ports – in particular, to the ports of Mykolaiv and “Olvia” in the Mykolaiv region.

I also call on all countries – and in particular your countries, dear G-19 leaders – to join our initiative to help the poorest with food.

We have already launched the initiative – “Grain From Ukraine”. And the first vessel – Nord Vind – leaves for Ethiopia with 27 thousand tons of wheat on board. This is the amount that can feed almost 100,000 people per year. There can be many such ships from Ukraine, and therefore there will be many people in poor countries who are saved from starvation.

Ukraine can export 45 million tons of food this year. And let a significant part of it be directed to those who suffer the most.

What do we propose exactly? Each country can join with a specific contribution and become a co-creator of the victory over hunger and the food crisis.

The third is energy security.

All of you can witness what the Russian terror is aimed at now. This is an attempt to turn the cold into a weapon. A weapon against millions of people.

About 40% of our energy infrastructure were destroyed by the strikes of Russian missiles and Iranian drones used by the occupiers. Every week, Russia blows up our power plants, transformers, and electricity supply lines.

A related goal of this terror is to prevent the export of our electricity to neighbouring countries, which could significantly help them stabilize the energy situation and reduce prices for consumers.

Russia is interested in the energy crisis. And we should all be interested in ending terror.

I thank all our partners who have already helped Ukraine with the supply of air defence and missile defence systems. This allows us to shoot down some of the Russian missiles and Iranian drones. But we must fully protect our sky. I ask you to increase respective assistance!

We have already proposed that a mission of UN experts is sent to the objects of critical energy infrastructure of Ukraine to assess the scope of damage and the needs for restoration, as well as to prevent their further destruction. We need to speed up the dispatch of this mission!

This will be a specific contribution of the international community to the stabilization of the energy situation in Ukraine and Europe, and therefore in the global energy market.

However, regardless of the decisions of the world, any day Russia on its own can simply abandon strikes on Ukrainian energy generation and water and heat supply facilities. Let Russia prove by its rejection of terror that it is really interested in the restoration of peace.

We must also take a fundamental step so that energy resources are no longer used as weapons. Price restrictions on Russian energy resources should be introduced.

If Russia is trying to deprive Ukraine, Europe and all energy consumers in the world of predictability and price stability, the answer to this should be a forced limitation of export prices for Russia. So that the export price was not higher than the production cost. That’s fair. If you take something away, the world has the right to take from you.

The fourth challenge is the release of all prisoners and deportees.

Thousands of our people – military and civilians – are in the Russian captivity. They are subjected to brutal torture – this is mass abuse!

In addition, we know by name 11 thousand children who were forcibly deported to Russia. They are separated from their parents in full knowledge that they have families.

Apart from the children, whose data we know, there are tens of thousands of those who were forcibly deported and about whom we know only indirectly. Among them are many, whose parents were killed by Russian strikes, and now they are being held in the state that murdered them.

Add to that hundreds of thousands of deported adults, and you will see what a humanitarian catastrophe the Russian war has caused.

Add political prisoners – Ukrainian citizens who are held in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territory, in particular in Crimea.

We must release all these people!

I want to point out that we did not find support from the International Committee of the Red Cross. We do not see that they are fully fighting to gain access to the camps, where Ukrainian prisoners of war and political prisoners are held. Neither they are helping to find deported Ukrainians. This self-withdrawal is the self-destruction of the Red Cross as an organization that was once respected.

We cannot wait.

Therefore, we must unite for the sake of the only realistic model of the release of prisoners – “all for all”.

And also for the release of all children and adults who were deported to Russia.

I thank the partners for their efforts, which allowed the release of many Ukrainians and foreign citizens, who were captured by the Russians. And let your leadership and the sincere heart of other leaders, who are present now, help free other Ukrainians as well.

The fifth – implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the world order.

Article 2 of the UN Charter defines everything very clearly. Everything that Russia violated by this war.

Therefore, we must restore the validity of international law – and without any compromises with the aggressor. Because the UN Charter cannot be applied partially, selectively or “at will”.

Russia must reaffirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the framework of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the applicable international legally binding documents.

It is not up to negotiations.

The sixth challenge is withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities.

There is a clear understanding of how to achieve this.

Russia must withdraw all its troops and armed formations from the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine’s control over all sections of our state border with Russia must be restored.

This will result in a real and complete cessation of hostilities.

Every day of delay means new deaths of Ukrainians, new threats to the world, and an insane increase in losses due to continuation of the Russian aggression – losses for everyone in the world.

The seventh – justice.

This is what stokes the greatest emotions.

Everywhere, when we liberate our land, we see one thing – Russia leaves behind torture chambers and mass burials of murdered people.

This was the case in Bucha and other cities in the north of the country after the occupation. This was the case in the Kharkiv region. The same we observe now in the Kherson region.

As of today, we have a full information about four hundred and thirty children killed by Russian strikes. Only children! And only those about whom we know everything for sure.

And how many mass graves are there in the territory that still remains under the control of Russia? What will we see in Mariupol?

That is why the world should endorse establishment of the Special Tribunal regarding the crime of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the creation of an international mechanism to compensate for all the damages caused by this war. Compensation at the expense of Russian assets, because it is the aggressor who must do everything to restore the justice violated by it.

We have already proposed a resolution of the UN General Assembly regarding an international compensation mechanism for damages caused by the Russian war. It is endorsed. We ask you to implement it.

We are also preparing the second resolution – on the Special Tribunal. Please join and support it.

Because there is no such nation in the world that does not appreciate justice.

The eighth challenge is ecocide, the need for immediate protection of environment.

Millions of hectares of forest were burned by shelling. Almost two hundred thousand hectares of our land are contaminated with unexploded mines and shells. Dozens of coal mines are flooded, including the mine in which an underground nuclear test explosion was carried out in 1979…

This is the “Yunkom” mine in the Donetsk region. It is located on the territory occupied by Russia. It has been flooded for several years – precisely because of the occupiers. Everyone in Moscow knows what a threat it poses not only to the rivers in the Donetsk region, but also to the Black Sea basin. Only the de-occupation of our territory can provide the conditions for the elimination of this threat.

It is impossible to accurately calculate the amount of atmospheric pollution from burnt oil depots and other fires… As well as from blown up sewage facilities, burned chemical plants, innumerable burial sites of slayed animals.

Just imagine this – due to the Russian aggression, 6 million domestic animals died. 6 million! These are official numbers. At least 50,000 dolphins were killed in the Black Sea. Thousands of hectares of soil are contaminated with harmful substances – most of them are fertile soils. Were fertile soils.

During the last week’s Climate Summit in Egypt, I proposed a platform to assess the environmental damage of war. We have to implement it.

We must also find common responses to all environmental threats created by the war. Without this, there will be no return to a normal, stable life, and the reverberations of the war will remain for a long time – in the explosions of mines that will take the lives of children and adults, in the pollution of water, soil and atmosphere.

I thank all the countries that are already helping us with demining. There is an urgent need for an increased number of equipment and experts for these operations.

Funds and technologies are also needed for the restoration of water treatment facilities.

This is not just a Ukrainian problem. This is a challenge for the whole world.

The next – the ninth – is the prevention of escalation.

A risk that still exists and will remain until our security is properly ensured.

Ukraine is not a member of any of the alliances. And Russia was able to start this war precisely because Ukraine remained in the grey zone – between the Euro-Atlantic world and the Russian imperialism. Now we do not have any security assurances either. So, how can we prevent repetition of Russia’s such aggression against us?

We need effective security assurances. That is why we prepared a draft agreement – the Kyiv Security Compact, and have already presented it to partners.

Thus, we should hold an international conference to cement the key elements of the post-war security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine.

The main outcome of the conference should be the signing of the Kyiv Security Compact.

We can do it any time – even this year. And we must do it.

And the tenth – confirmation of the end of the war.

When all the antiwar measures are implemented, when security and justice begin to be restored, a document confirming the end of the war should be signed by the parties.

I would like to emphasize that none of the steps above can take long. A month for one step at the most. For some steps, a couple of days are enough.

We already have a positive experience with the grain export initiative. How does it work?

There is the UN – and two other parties to the agreements: on one side Ukraine, Türkiye and the UN, and on the other side Russia, Türkiye and the UN.

Implementation of each of the points I have just presented can be worked out in a similar fashion. States ready to take the lead in this or that decision can become parties to the arrangement.

Once again:

radiation and nuclear safety; food security; energy security; release of all prisoners and deported persons; implementation of the UN Charter and restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the world order; withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities; restoration of justice; countering ecocide; preventing escalation; and finally – confirmation of the end of the war.

Dear leaders!

I have outlined the paths each of you can choose for yourself – how to become a co-creator of peace.

Please choose your path for leadership – and together we will surely implement the peace formula.

What will it do?

It will save thousands of lives. It will restore the validity of international law. It will revitalize the security architecture. It will return the global stability, without which the whole world is suffering. In essence – this is what the honest countries of the world are cooperating for.

Peace is a global value. That, which is important for every person in the world.

I am confident that it is likewise for each of you, leaders of G-19.

I have outlined specific, practical solutions. They can be implemented. Quickly. They are effective.

And if Russia opposes our peace formula, you will see that it only wants war.

Ukraine is grateful to everyone in the world who helps us to protect freedom and to restore peace.

Let our joint efforts be crowned with success as soon as possible and be reflected in the outcomes of this summit.

Thank you for the invitation!

Glory to Ukraine!

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 8 November 2022.

Dear Friends!

It is a great honor to be awarded with the Medal of Liberty, presented to me by senators Chris Coons and Rob Portman during their visit to Kyiv.

This award really demonstrates how and what Ukrainian people are fighting for. Liberty is the main word for us and what really unites all Ukrainians.

As in any democratic society, Ukrainians have different views on life and politics. As the case was in previous years, we felt divided arguing whether we would ever be able to stand together.

But when Russia decided to destroy our freedom and wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth, we immediately got united and we keep this unity.

All divisions are put aside. There is no place for political conflicts. Because when there is a mortal threat to freedom, everything else is not important.

Millions of people are fighting and working to protect Ukraine. They are very different people. After the Russian full-scale invasion started, they all decided – “we are here” and we will never give up our freedom.

And I believe that this Liberty Medal is for all men and women of Ukraine who, after the 24th of February, showed to the world’s largest autocracy that only defeat is what it can win in Ukraine.

These are our soldiers and officers. This is a massive wave of our volunteers – those who provide our defenders with everything they need. These are farmers who stopped Russian armored vehicles on the roads to their communities and helped the Army. These are IT specialists, who build defense against Russian cyberattacks. These are companies that work despite constant Russian terror and keep jobs for Ukrainians. These are doctors who help always everywhere. These are school teachers and university professors who can read lectures even in bomb shelters and distantly from the trenches on the front lines, but they do not give up and teach children – teach them to believe in themselves, in freedom and in Ukraine.

In less than nine months, more than thirty thousand Ukrainians have been honored state awards for their contribution to our national defense.

First of all, they are our heroic soldiers. These are rescuers who do away with the effects of Russian shelling. These are energy workers who return electricity to people after Russian missiles and Iranian drones hit power plants – Russia wants to leave millions of our people without energy in the winter. These are transport workers who supply our defense, economy and communities. These are different people of various jobs who are all equally fight against the invasion.

However, this Liberty Medal is an award not only for our people.

When this war began, Ukraine heard something very important from the world – we heard that “the democracies are here.” And we see now what democracies are capable of when they act in unity.

Every potential aggressor in the world sees the help that the United States and the free world is providing to us, and all the sanctions imposed against Russia – sees and believes that it is better not to start a war against freedom at all. In fact, this is one of the greatest contributions to the global peace and security during our lifetime.

Together with our partners, we are developing a new security architecture – these are security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe which will not only re-empower the principles of the UN Charter, but will also become a model for nations in other parts of the world – a model to avoid new cruel wars.

And that is why, I believe that this Liberty Medal is also to all friends of freedom in the United States and other countries. To all those, who are helping us to restore our territorial integrity, and thus to restore peace.

This Liberty Medal is to those who support us with weapons, air defense systems, finance and diplomacy. To those who are helping to rebuild after the Russian strikes. To those who impose sanctions against Russia and its accomplices such as the Iranian regime.

When after the beginning of the Russian invasion, I said – “the president is here”, when millions of Ukrainians decided at the same time – “we are here” and we will not surrender, and when the world supported us, saying – “democracies are here”, then it meant and still mean – “freedom is here “, “human dignity is here”, “law is here”. And one day it will definitely mean – “peace is here”.

I call on you to maintain unwavering unity, as it is now, until that very day when we all hear those important words we have been dreaming of… Until we hear that peace has finally been restored. Democracies must not stop on their way to the victory.

I thank you for your attention!

Thank you for your support – President Biden, both parties of the Congress, and every American citizen! Please know that you support not just a country or its leader, you support millions of people who, like you, cherish freedom.

And I decided to send the prize money of our Liberty Medal to help Ukrainian veterans – to rebuild and modernize the rehabilitation center for veterans in the city of Borodyanka, Kyiv region of Ukraine. Let everything bring our victory closer!

Слава Україні!

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 31 October 2022.

Ladies and Gentlemen! Dear defenders of the law and human rights!

Greetings to all of you – participants of the International Bar Association meeting and thank you for your attention to the Ukrainian struggle for freedom.

This year, your Association celebrated its 75th anniversary. It was on February 17 – a week before the terrible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which undermines the long-term achievements of humanity in the protection of international law and order and peace.

This ongoing war in Ukraine has long had echoes in all other parts of the world.

Somewhere there are waves of refugees. Somewhere there is a threat of large-scale famine due to the artificial food crisis provoked by Russia. Somewhere there is a brutal cost-of-living crisis that drives millions of people into poverty and destroys the well-being of the middle class even where Russia cannot reach with its aggression.

And somewhere there are the toughest possible things. This is happening in Ukraine. Artillery shelling of our cities – hundreds of Ukrainian cities were destroyed, dozens – completely burned. Constant missile and bomb terror. Iranian combat drones that Russia is using against our infrastructure.

Millions of Ukrainians suffered losses from this war unleashed by Russia – they lost loved ones, friends, their homes. At least tens of thousands of Ukrainians have already been killed.

Of course, we are doing everything to protect our people and oust the Russian invaders from Ukrainian land as soon as possible. We are doing everything to restore freedom to all Ukrainians in all corners of our country. And I believe that we will do it – thanks to our heroic defenders, thanks to everyone who fights and works for the victory of Ukraine.

Very powerful assistance is provided by our partners – and I am especially grateful to the United States of America for its leadership in the global coalition formed this year to protect Ukraine and freedom.

But I would like to draw attention to the fact that lawyers will put an end to this war – after the military, after politicians. Exactly lawyers.

Those who will ensure that all those guilty of terror are brought to justice and that all damages caused by Russia are compensated – at the expense of the assets of the aggressor state itself.

It is this kind of justice that should be the end of the evil that Russia has brought.

Behind every of four and a half thousand Russian missiles there are people who are responsible for the deaths and losses that those missiles have caused. Behind every mass burial of the victims of Russian torturers, there are savages who are guilty of these murders. Behind every manifestation of Russian aggression there are those who planned it, organized it, justified it and prevented its termination.

We have already started working to establish a Special Tribunal to punish Russia for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. This tribunal will happen. We are already cooperating with the United States, with European countries, with the International Criminal Court to punish all Russian murderers and torturers.

We have already started the creation of the Compensation Mechanism, which will ensure the confiscation and channeling of Russian assets to compensate for the losses caused by this war.

And I invite you to join this work!

This is an opportunity for each of you to help people who have become innocent victims of war as specifically as possible. This is a chance for each of you to become part of the multi-generational global effort to establish the force of international law.

Perhaps, right now in this hall, among you, there are those whose names will soon be inscribed in the world history of the protection of freedom and law and order – for all people, for all countries, for all times.

I thank you for the already started cooperation of your Association with the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General and for your initiatives that help us fight for justice for all the victims of this Russian terrorist war.

I urge you to be active in the future!

Together we can prove that the law is effective, that the law works, that every war crime will be investigated, and every war criminal will be brought to justice.

Thank you for your attention! Long live freedom and let justice prevail!

Glory to Ukraine!

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 29 October 2022.

Thank you so much to everybody for the support! Thank you for the honor of addressing you today.

Dear Mr. Rector!

Dear Senators! I also know you well. Thank you for being with us, supporting us in Kyiv.

Thank you to the honorable professorial team and students!

Dear friends!

I am glad to welcome you all and thank you for your attention to Ukraine!

I watched this video, a beautiful video made with heart and soul. Beautiful, but at the same time very tragic. You have seen everything and there is nothing to talk about. I think we will be able to discuss and assess this and the details in the questions and answers part of our discussion. However, I also have a short video. I think it will be helpful too.

We still have a question-and-answer session ahead of us, so I will try not to waste a lot of time so that as many people as possible can express their thoughts today.

You probably all know what is happening in Ukraine and what a brutal war Russia is waging against us. Tough and cruel.

By the way, thanks to the fact that Professor Timothy Snyder works at your university – a very remarkable individual, an outstanding historian – you can easily find out absolutely all the details about why Russia acts in the way it does and why it started acting like that from Ukraine.

I will describe the situation in general. For Russia, this is a war not only to seize our land. And not only for breaking our independent statehood, spreading its imperial influence. It’s a bit more.

With its terror, Russia is trying to destroy what is constantly reborn in our people despite the wars that have taken place, despite the invaders who came here, and even despite the Kremlin’s policy of genocide against Ukrainians, which was implemented in the 20th century. And one of its manifestations was, in particular, the Holodomor – the destruction of people by artificially organized hunger.

Ukrainians went through very terrible things and still preserved their ability not to obey, their love of freedom and inner confidence that the source of any power on earth is the people. Not a royal throne, not power, not wealth, but people. And it is very important that Ukraine has the potential to protect this fundamental democratic spirit. Protect not only for itself, but also for other peoples in our part of the world.

This is where the front line is. And not only for Ukraine!

It’s the royal throne against freedom. The army is made up of those who have been deprived of any freedom during the years of the rule of this Russian leadership, against the defense forces made up of those who know for sure that everyone’s freedom makes everyone stronger.

Look even at how we differ on the battlefield in Ukraine now.

For us, this is a people’s war for freedom, and each of the Ukrainian military units has guardian angels in the rear – people who help with everything that may be necessary for our soldiers. We constantly feel this direct connection between the defense forces and society.

Do you see something similar in Russia? It is not there. Their people feel a direct connection except with television propaganda of hatred.

Our commanders on the battlefield have the freedom to make their own decisions in general defense operations and use that freedom to decide how to operate more effectively at one point or another.

Instead, Russian commanders tremble, waiting for orders from above from those who have never seen a battlefield in their lives, and sometimes spend months trying to fulfill orders that are hopeless from the start, simply wasting people’s lives, sending them to their deaths, wave after wave.

Our defense forces are immediately followed by sappers, rescuers, repair crews, energy workers and all those who have to restore normal life to people. And what does the Russian flag bring to the land where it was erected? Mass graves, torture camps, deportations, filtration camps and total looting.

Imagine: Russian occupiers remove Ukrainian books from libraries and destroy them. Everything that can remind of Ukraine is being destroyed in schools as well.

Already 51 Ukrainian universities have been hit by Russian missiles and artillery!

At checkpoints and infiltration camps, Russian soldiers force people to undress to reveal whether they have Ukrainian patriotic tattoos. Even the simple presence of Ukrainian national symbols on the body or, for example, a yellow-blue ribbon on a backpack is a sufficient reason for the Russian military to detain, torture or kill a person. And thousands of such cases have been recorded.

Why is this happening?

Because Ukrainian is a target for Russia. Russia is fighting against freedom, destroying Ukrainian and Ukrainians. This is exactly how they see it in the Kremlin – the destruction of the people, and therefore of freedom. They do not believe that it is possible to conquer Ukraine in any other way. And that is why, for example, they went to Iran for weapons, for killer drones and missiles, because Russia lacks its own means of terror, and it simply does not have anything else in its plans or thoughts.

Take a look at what the Iranian drones purchased by Russia are sent. They are sent against what enables the people to live: against power plants, boiler houses, transport, even houses. They want to destroy everything Ukrainian, they hate the entire Ukraine – our every manifestation.

And this is precisely the strategic threat of Russian aggression. Because according to Ukrainianness, Russia will go to destroy Polish or Georgian life in the same way – that is, the life of other nations on a huge territory – from the countries of Northern Europe to Kazakhstan.
And that is why we say that it is important for the whole world that Russia loses now – in the war in Ukraine. When we win for ourselves, we will win for other nations whose freedom is potentially under attack: the ambitions of the Russian throne are known.

And so that all this does not sound too general, I ask you to watch one video. Video about what we will save Ukraine and other nations of our part of the world from, when we expel the Russian invaders from Ukraine and achieve security guarantees for all of us.

This was a picture of our survival under Russian terrorist attacks only during October. And this full-scale war has been going on for nine months.

Dear friends!

On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I want to thank your people for the support you provide to our defense. Thank you to your leaders – President Biden, both chambers and parties of Congress, public figures and businesses who feel how important it is for Ukrainian democracy to endure.

I am sure Russia has no chance of winning this war and destroying us and any other nation in our part of the world. But the sooner we stop Russia, the more certain our cooperation will be.

The more Russian threats, the more our cooperation should be. And the more Russian escalating steps, the more our steps should be in response to defend freedom and people.

We cannot slow down the momentum in cooperation and give Russia even the slightest hope that its terror can work. Right now, and precisely in Ukraine, it is being decided whether our part of the world will be free and democratic. Ultimately, this is how the global fate of democracy will be determined.

This fate should be determined by you and us – the free world, not Russia and its accomplices. I believe that it will be so!

Thanks again for your attention!

Glory to Ukraine!

The speech made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 25 October 2022.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I thank you for participating in the first parliamentary summit of the Crimea Platform!

I am grateful to our Croatian friends for hosting, thank you, Ruslan, for a strong start!

Thank you all for your kind words about Ukraine and the Ukrainian Crimea, where we will definitely meet again – very soon, I’m sure of it. At the summit of the Crimea Platform, which will mean the restoration of peace on our continent.

Peace is what brought us together. What we value. What we strive for and what we cooperate for in different formats and at different levels.

Peace… What we all lost in 2014 when Russia started its insane aggression. Started with Crimea.

After more than eight years of Putin’s war, there are no countries left in the world that would not feel its consequences. It affected everyone – in one way or another.

The world is counting losses.

What did the Russian enslavement of Crimea lead to, if you look at it from the present day? It was a prologue to a full-scale war that would take the lives of thousands and thousands of people.

It was the birth of an anti-human system that tortures, deprives of freedom and injures men, women and children without distinction of age, sex, religion or ethnicity. This was the beginning of the most dangerous chaos in international relations over the lifetime of several generations.

All of this was brought by the Russian flag to Crimea and all this is spreading further to the world from the occupied Crimea.

The world has become a much more violent place. A place where Russia easily provokes a large-scale famine, as due to its criminal control over Crimea, it has destroyed the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and can at any moment block our food exports – vital for the world market.

The world has become a place where Russia easily and with impunity destroys hopes for stability, for example, in the Middle East and North Africa, because it keeps Crimea as a strategic military base for criminal interference in the situation in these regions.

The world has become a place where Russian nuclear blackmail is, unfortunately, commonplace, because this state, in order to keep the stolen territory, threatens the entire humanity with catastrophe.

The Russian leadership is trying very hard to show that all this is from 2014 and forever.

But that is why we are together so that the brutality and chaos brought by Russia will be truly temporary. Temporary, like the Russian occupation of Crimea.

It all started with it. Its return will mean the restoration of true peace. Because the Russian potential for aggression will be completely destroyed when the Ukrainian flag will be back in its rightful place – in the cities and villages of Crimea.

Crimea must be freed from its use by Russia as a bridgehead.

Then the world will feel that there will be no more losses. And people will feel that the world is becoming safer.

Two years ago, when we founded the Crimea Platform, we envisioned a constant expansion of its format. And I’m very happy to see the platform develop in this way.

First there was the level of the leaders of the states. Now – the level of legislators and government officials, public figures and experts. And this second level is no less powerful than the initial one. As it makes it possible to attract the democratic power of our societies to respond to each of the challenges that have already been provoked by the Russian occupation of Crimea and that will inevitably arise when it is returned to the legal control of Ukraine.

Modern active generations do not yet have the experience of returning such a special territory from the invader to its native state. After all, the ninth year of Russian enslavement continues…

The ninth year of Russia’s destruction of the entire international law, all normal economic, social and cultural ties for Crimea. This is what it is now.

Crimea is separated by Russia from the very possibility of a normal life.

On the territory of Crimea, the occupiers not only committed thousands of crimes… Since 2014, Crimea is the only part of Europe where de facto purges continue – on religious and ethnic grounds. If you are a Muslim, the Russian occupiers consider you guilty. If you are a qırımlı, the Russian occupiers consider you guilty. If you have a Ukrainian passport, the Russian occupiers consider you guilty. Think about it again: people have been living in such conditions for the ninth year already!

And also there is constant Russian militarization of Crimea. And also there is constant deliberate destruction of the Crimean nature by the occupiers. And also there is total lack of guarantees of property rights in Crimea and the looting of Crimea in the interests of the invaders.

It will not be easy to reintegrate Crimea after years of such occupation. But due to cooperation, we will manage to ensure this as well. We will change the situation completely.

The return of the Ukrainian flag to Crimea is the return of the normality familiar to all Europeans, as it is available in each of your countries. Security normality, economic, legal, social, cultural.

The return of the Ukrainian flag is the arrival of the European Union on the peninsula. In the full sense of these words. All levels of our integration: trade – this is a huge market, investment – these are huge opportunities for development. All this is simply not available in Crimea now. And it cannot be available – Russia has deprived our peninsula of markets and development.

The return of the Ukrainian flag is the protection of human rights, it is freedom for all people in Crimea, for all communities – ethnic or religious. It is an opportunity to freely speak your mind and spread the truth about what is happening. It is available everywhere on our continent – from the Atlantic to the Kharkiv region. And it will be available in Crimea.

We are already getting closer – every day.

And I have just taken part in the work of the Berlin conference on the recovery of Ukraine. Already now, when the war is still going on, and the recovery after our victory. The restoration of our Crimea is being discussed along with the restoration of the whole of Ukraine as an integral part of the valuable, infrastructural, investment and cultural space of the whole of Europe.

And we need three things now.

At this time, when the restoration of our territorial integrity is still ongoing, sufficient and timely support for our state is needed. Defense, financial and sanctions.

I urge you to advocate such support for Ukraine, to constantly strengthen it – it is the foundation of future peace.

Then, when we reach our legal state borders and return Crimea in particular, we will need your experience: security, political, legal, economic, social, infrastructural.

In order to return full life to Crimea after years of occupation, and justice to the people of Crimea, our cooperation must be maintained at a maximum even after the restoration of our territorial integrity.

We should make this format of ours, the format of the Crimea Platform, a starting point for other humanitarian and diplomatic platforms that will promote the de-occupation of other territories that were once enslaved: from Transnistria and Abkhazia to the northern territories.

And the third… This is very important.

I ask you to promise me that you will definitely visit our Ukrainian Crimea, liberated from the occupiers and peaceful. As soon as we return our national flag there.

This part of Europe has been waiting for distinguished guests for too long.

Thank you for your attention! Thank you for your support! Thanks again to Croatia as the host country for our summit. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister Plenković – I am glad to see and hear you – and Mr. Speaker Jandroković for your hospitality.

Glory to Ukraine!