Dear Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.
Dear Yuliia Anatoliivna, Madam Prime Minister.
Dear ministers, guests, speakers and representatives of the parliaments of our friends, European states, NATO, and the OSCE, heads of delegations.
Ladies and gentlemen.
What we have just seen is, in my view, a very important video – many harrowing, horrific, telling and meaningful images. Because this is not only documented evidence of the atrocities committed by Putin and his army in Ukraine, not only a portrait and the true nature of today’s Russia, not only a warning for Europe.
It is also a certain assessment of the entire civilized world – of international institutions and law, of all those who speak about protecting shared values. This assessment lies not only in what we have seen, but above all in what is, unfortunately, missing from this video. In what is still lacking in the fifth year of the full-scale aggression – after mass killings, abductions, torture, and rape – after everything Russia has done to people in Ukraine.
What is missing are the images of war criminals standing before a court, of every murderer hearing a verdict, of all those savages facing inevitable punishment for what they have done. We must do everything to ensure that this does not remain only in our statements, in our imagination, not only in the tears of our people, not only in emotions and on paper. Otherwise, the concept of justice will be devalued. Only by defending the truth and restoring justice will the world have a chance for a peaceful future.
A future in which the evil committed by Russia four years ago in Bucha is never repeated – not only in Bucha, but across the Kyiv region and throughout Ukraine – a future where it is not repeated here, nor in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, or Warsaw – in fact, nowhere in Europe, nowhere in the world. This is extremely important. Russia does not want to stop the war as long as it has two things.
The first is oil, which gives them the money to kill. The second is impunity, which sends them the message that they can carry on as before. Peace will undoubtedly come when Putin is deprived of both.
Today, Ukraine is doing this through its own capabilities – through its own deep strikes – while the world can and must do it through sanctions. It must restore the rule of law and limit the rule of force. Every country in Europe needs legal mechanisms that make it possible to stop Russia.
To stop tankers, to confiscate Russian oil, to stop Russia’s lackeys and servants around the world – and there are some in Europe – to stop the Kremlin’s special operations on the continent. Remembering Bucha requires more than just sympathy; it demands decisions. Remembering Bucha demands action.
This means the swiftest possible launch of a Special Tribunal, an International Claims Commission for Ukraine, the return of children abducted by Russia, the impossibility of forgetting and forgiving the aggressor, and the impossibility of a situation where repentance replaces punishment. This means the inevitability of consequences for all Russian criminals in the future – when all those who committed atrocities, both in Bucha and across Ukraine, receive sentences, not Schengen visas or political asylum. Otherwise, both in Ukraine and anywhere in Europe, there will always be a risk of new aggression, a new invasion, a new Bucha.
All of us in Europe have the right to live without fear. This right must be upheld. Bucha endured 33 days of Russian occupation. Terror, torture, 33 days of total evil. More than 600 Ukrainian men and women were killed. Russia called all of this staged. Russia always does this – and, in fact, any evil always does this: it whitewashes its own atrocities, calls them lies or provocations, and blames the victim. It justifies its evil with some supposedly higher purpose. You know, very often the images from Bucha are compared to the horrific scenes of World War II. But there is a major difference – and today it does not reflect well on current world leaders. Because Nazism was punished for its crimes, not granted partial sanctions relief.
In my view, no crisis or destabilization in the world can justify this. We must not forget or dismiss everything Ukraine has endured during this terrible time. The catastrophe of every city and village of ours into which Russia has brought its war and death. Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Mariupol, Yahidne, Avdiivka, Olenivka, Vuhledar, Chasiv Yar – and many others. From the first summit until today, this list has, unfortunately, grown. This means one thing: we need far more determination, far more pressure on Putin and Russia, and far more real actions and steps that bring the victory of peace and justice closer.
Dear friends,
I want to thank all of you. We have 23 delegations today. We are very grateful for your support, grateful that you are with the Ukrainian people today – right here, where it matters, where it hurts.
Thank you for not allowing the world to lose focus on Ukraine, to forget the war that Russia unleashed in the heart of Europe. Thank you for knowing this yourselves and reminding others that Bucha is not only a crime committed by Russia in Ukraine. It is a tragedy that could happen in any other European country if our unity is insufficient, if our determination is insufficient, if Russia is not held fully accountable for everything it has done. I am confident that we can – and definitely must – overcome the apathy and skepticism that the concept of international law is provoking among many people around the world today.
We still can – and surely must – restore the strength of the values of human life, freedom, truth, and, importantly, justice. Only this will ensure a dignified and lasting peace in Ukraine. In Ukraine – and therefore peace in Europe, in our shared home. Thank you for your support, for this summit, and for your presence here.
Glory to Ukraine!
