Speeches

We will defend our land with or without the support of partners. Whether they give us hundreds of modern weapons or five thousand helmets. We appreciate any help, but everyone should understand that these are not charitable contributions that Ukraine should ask for or remind of. These are not noble gestures for which Ukraine should bow low. This is your contribution to the security of Europe and the world. Where Ukraine has been a reliable shield for eight years. And for eight years it has been rebuffing one of the world's biggest armies.

We are confident in our Armed Forces, but our military must also feel our support, our cohesion and our unity. The foothold of our army is the confidence of their own people and a strong economy.

I want this to be the main association with our country - I want the phrase "for the first time" to always be next to the word "Ukraine". I will talk about the main things: what was done for the first time and what will happen next.

We will never forget our ancestors who died in 1921, 1922 and 1923. In 1946 and 1947. And in the worst 1932 and 1933, arranged by the totalitarian Stalinist regime, the years of the Holodomor-genocide.

You have to be worthy, not give up. Because Ukrainians are not used to giving up. Because they have dignity. And therefore - freedom!

The UN must support those who want to change the world for the better. Today, Ukraine is presenting a number of initiatives, platforms and summits. Let's take only one - the Crimea Platform. It must work under the auspices of the United Nations. If every nation has such an effective platform, approved by the UN, which solves problems and works 24/7, that means reviving the UN. Because it means to revive faith in the UN among ordinary people.

Today we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of Ukraine's independence! The 30th anniversary of its obtaining! And it is fairer, in my opinion, to say: the 30th anniversary of the restoration of Ukraine's independence! Because on August 24, 1991, Ukraine restored its statehood. And on August 24, 2021, Ukraine finally realizes this, talks about it, and is proud of it.

Kyivan Rus’ is the mother of our history. 24 regions of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula are her own children. And they are rightfully her heirs. And cousins and very distant relatives should not encroach on her legacy. They should not try to prove their involvement in the history of thousands of years and thousands of events, being from the places where they took place thousands of kilometers away.

I really want the time to come when the meetings of the National Security and Defense Council will be held not once a week, but once a year. And the agenda of these meetings will contain only one item - nobody and nothing threatens Ukraine. It is for this purpose that we continue our daily work, active defense of our state and restoration of justice.

Following the adoption of the law on thieves in law, the strategy for combating organized crime and nine months of work, personal sanctions have been applied against 557 thieves in law currently known in the world. Most of them are not in Ukraine. And the number of those at liberty in Ukraine has halved: from 34 to 17 people. Today we did everything to make this figure zero. In the near future and forever.