Alexander, Mr. President!
Thank you for your kind words and thank you for the invitation and your help, support of Ukraine.
Dear Elina!
Distinguished European representatives!
Last night, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine, this time on Kyiv. Hundreds of “shahed” drones and, also, missiles. Our air defense shot down many, many of them, but not all, unfortunately.
Once again, a Russian missile hit a residential building. A whole section of the building was turned into rubble and dust – just like the lives of the people who lived there. Across Kyiv, dozens of people were injured in today’s attack. There are fatalities, and sadly, the number of dead is still rising.
Two days ago, Russia launched another cynical strike, this time on a prison in the Zaporizhzhia region. They used air-dropped bombs. They knew exactly it was a civilian facility. They knew the bombs would hit it. Sixteen people were killed. Forty-three were injured.
Russia keeps launching such attacks even when the whole world is calling on it to stop the war. A war that Russia started, a war that Russia keeps dragging on, a war that only the Russian leadership wants – a leadership stuck in another era. They are mentally stuck in another century – a time of brutal violence, deportations, and total disregard for human rights and equality. We all know – such ideas and such times must never return to Europe. And we all know how to protect ourselves from that, how to protect Europe from what today’s Russia is bringing.
And I believe Russia can be pushed to stop this war. It started it – and it can be made to end it.
But if the world doesn’t aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries. It will keep spending huge amounts of money, resources, and maybe even lives to do so.
One of Putin’s main ideas, and now it’s mainstream in Russia, is that Russia has no real borders, that its borders are wherever it wants them to be. This is a total rejection of the post-WW2 world, and this is the foundation of the current regime in Russia. And we in Europe will have to protect ourselves from this in the long term. And we will protect ourselves.
And yes, Russia has seized a vast amount of land – not just recently, but over centuries of imperial expansion and aggression. But its real potential is far smaller than Europe’s. Russia’s technologies are worse. And most importantly, unlike Europe, Russia offers no way of life that people want to follow. That’s why it will lose.
Our main task is to stop Russia now, and to do everything we can to grow our shared strength – in security, in economy, in technology, in social development.
I’m grateful to everyone applying sanctions against Russia – and preparing new ones. And we need to fully block Russia’s war machine – cut off its arms industry, limit its energy profits, and finally put every frozen Russian asset, including the stolen wealth of corruption, to work defending against Russian aggression. It’s time to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them – confiscate them, and use them to serve peace, not war.
I want to thank President Stubb for standing with Ukraine, for supporting our people, and for helping build a connection with President Trump. President Trump is truly interested in ending the war. And we have to do everything we can to make sure the United States and Europe act together for security. I thank all European leaders, every country that helps our defense, our air shield, our resilience.
Ukrainians have been through a lot – because we stand together with everyone who values life. And I’m sure the day will come when Ukraine will live in real peace – a time when we will not wake up every night to air-raid sirens, a time when we restore safety and constitutional order in the territories that are currently occupied, a time when Russia will be forced to recognize its real borders.
That time will come because Europe stays united. Ukraine is not alone. America is helping. And the world chooses life, not war. If we look back at the choice made in Helsinki 50 years ago – it was also a choice for life, not war.
Thank you for your support.
Please, keep putting pressure on Russia – for the sake of peace. And invest in your own security.
Glory to Ukraine!