Distinguished guests of the summit, dear friends of Ukraine,
Dear representatives of our Ukrainian communities, dear government officials,
I am glad to see you all, and I am glad that this format of ours – the Summit of Cities and Regions – is alive and continuing.
During the full-scale war, we have created various formats – this is true – for interaction with our partners. And this format of horizontal interaction – between communities and cities, between regional authorities, and with the participation of government officials – is one of the most telling. It is a format that shows very clearly how life in Europe works and why our defense in this war has gained such broad, such global support. We have never relied solely on relations between country leaders, or only on the views and decisions of leaders at that level. For us, it has always been very important what societies think – what societies think about what is happening, and whether ordinary people feel, in a broad sense, what we are fighting for; whether they feel what we are fighting for here, in Ukraine, and what would threaten others if Ukraine had not held out. And this sense of a shared threat and a common task – to protect life and our European choice, our European way of life – this sense has united country leaders, many other political leaders in partner countries, civic leaders, the business community, media professionals, and cultural figures. And most importantly, the thoughts of truly millions of people in different countries, in different parts of the world, have been and remain with us – above all in Europe, because this is Russia’s war in Europe, against Ukraine and against Europe. The thoughts of millions of people have been and remain with us – people who, from the very first minutes of this Russian aggression, felt all its injustice and brazenness and decided that Russia must be stopped. It was this decision by people that became the foundation for many decisions by country leaders, parliaments, and businesses to support Ukraine, our defense, and our people. And this is one of the key elements of how, despite everything, we are managing to defend our cities and villages, our life, and our independence. Namely, it is thanks to the unity of what we feel with many people around the world – and specifically in European countries – people who value their own freedom and independence, and therefore help us defend the freedom and independence of Ukraine.
Today, here at the summit, there are representatives of many countries – partner and friendly countries: representatives of Poland, France, Austria, Romania, Norway, Germany, Portugal, Italy, our Baltic friends – Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania – and Hungary. The Mayor of Budapest, the capital, is here today, and I hope that we will certainly smooth out relations between our countries. I am confident of this. This is very important for everyone – both in our region and, as we can see, in Europe as a whole. Representatives of Sweden, Czechia, and Slovakia are also here with us now. For the first time in this format, there are representatives of Belarus. And recently, Lukashenko said that it was time for the Presidents of Ukraine and Belarus to meet. It turned out quite interestingly: Lukashenko said it, but it was Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who came. I am glad to see you, Sviatlana. We also have our friends here – representatives of Belgium, Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United States of America, Slovenia, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Switzerland. So many friends. I want all of Ukraine to applaud our partners who are here today. Thank you.
Most of you understand and feel absolutely clearly what the phrase “For our freedom and yours” means. This is exactly how we are defending ourselves now at home, in Ukraine. This is exactly how the freedom and independence of many others in our Europe were protected. This is exactly how the entire free world lives – thanks to the readiness of others to come to the aid of the one who is facing unjust strikes and wars of aggression.
I thank you for doing everything in your communities to ensure that freedom remains strong and that ties with communities in other countries remain strong as well. Thank you for all your support for Ukraine and our people – both here in Ukraine and for those Ukrainians who have found shelter in your communities. Today, each of us understands that Russia’s madness has not diminished. They are again threatening us with strikes, again refusing real diplomacy, trying to drag Belarus even deeper into the war, and threatening the Baltic states, Finland, Moldova, and Poland.
We must continue to be resilient, very strong, and remember that a lot depends today on our decisions and on the commonality of our feelings. It is important now to continue conveying to all political leaders that air defense for Ukraine is the number one priority. It is important to continue working together on the resilience of our Ukrainian communities – and therefore on the experience of resilience that will be useful to communities in your countries. I am grateful to Gdańsk and to Poland for the substantive preparations for the URC format – the Ukraine Recovery Conference – this June. It is important that the meetings in Gdańsk deliver real results for reconstruction here in Ukraine and for engaging European businesses in relations with Ukraine and with Ukrainian businesses. Our communities will also be widely represented at the conference, and I hope that all of you will join as well.
An important element today concerns an initiative of our regions – Ukraine and our part of Europe – the Carpathian Integration Initiative. We are now developing this format and preparing an international forum of the Carpathian macroregion. I am grateful to every participant for our joint work to ensure that this format of ours is, and becomes, effective.
And please, let us remember: everything rests on people. It is enormously helpful for Ukraine to feel that we are not alone in our defense. People in your countries, as well as here in Ukraine, must continue to feel that evil will not prevail. And we will remain very grateful to you for every project, joint project, every strong decision, every important step that helps our defense and the protection of our cities and villages from Russian strikes, and for your participation in Ukraine’s reconstruction. Please continue to act effectively. The fate of our freedom and yours is being decided here, in Ukraine, in this war – in which system prevails here: our shared European system, or Moscow’s. We must protect our independence, our people, our Ukraine – and therefore our Europe.
Glory to Ukraine!