Glory to Ukraine!
Our dear warriors, our dear veterans!
Everyone who is here in Ukraine, who stands with Ukraine, with our defenders!
I am glad to welcome all of you. And continuing this tradition – the tradition of veterans’ forums on the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day – I want to begin this year’s forum with the most important thing: with gratitude and applause for each of you, every single person defending our state, our independence. We remember: an independent Ukraine exists thanks to those who care about what will happen to Ukraine. We thank you all!
And I would also like to express special gratitude today to Mark. It is an honor. I thank you for the fact that the NATO Secretary General is here today with his team and that he supported this proposal. I really wanted you to be present here today at the veterans’ forum. It is an honor for us. Thank you!
Dear attendees!
Many of us, when we were children, heard the word “veteran.” And it was about the people around us – our relatives who went through the war, the Second World War. And these were already elderly people – like my grandfather, who fought against the Nazis. We saw them; we saw how distant the war was. They rarely spoke of the war. But they always remembered those who had gone through that war with them. They were proud that they had protected life. But they never turned it into a cult. And they never imagined that war could return and again become something ordinary for Europe, and that their grandchildren, young generations, would fight again, and they also would be called veterans. And that the same kind of evil would come again, only this time – Rashism. 2014. 2022. For Ukraine, this war is now already longer than the Second World War. And no one yet knows when this war – the War for Ukraine’s Independence – will end. But we are doing everything to ensure that it ends not someday far away, but as soon as possible. This is extremely important. And most importantly, it must end with real security for our children, our grandchildren. But it must also end justly. This is crucial – with respect for Ukraine, for Ukrainians, for all of you, for our warriors, for veterans. I have no doubt that Ukraine will defend its independence. In fact, you have already defended our independence. We have already united all of Europe and many other countries of the world around Ukraine and around such brave people of ours. Now our task is to ensure that our children, our grandchildren, and our future generations of Ukrainians do not have to go through war. The key to this is security guarantees, which we are currently working on together with our partners. Today, Mark is here, and he is a great friend of ours, a great friend of Ukraine, and together with him, with other European leaders, with the United States of America, and with a coalition of our partners – over 30 countries – we are preparing security guarantees, so crucial for Ukraine. I am confident this will happen. And it will be based first and foremost on our strong army, and therefore on your experience, experience of combat results – yours and your brothers-in-arms’, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who are now at the front, on combat missions, or who have already returned from the war with honor.
I do not want to speak now about challenges – you know them – about figures, percentages, statistics. We will hear about these today from our government officials. We will hear proposals, initiatives, and decisions. And this is important. But it is equally important that you know, and that each of you feels, how much all of Ukraine owes you. And that we hope you will continue to stand with Ukraine – to strengthen Ukraine, to work, to preserve for Ukraine and for all our future generations the knowledge that courage truly changes history and protects the right to life for nations. I thank you! And I ask you always to honor the memory of all our men and women who gave their lives for us. I ask you now to observe a minute of silence in their memory.
Thank you.
Glory to Ukraine!
