Glory to Ukraine!
Dear attendees, dear guests, Ukrainian MPs, dear government officials, Ukrainian clergy,
Dear warriors,
Guests of our state – Mr. Director-General of UNESCO, Secretary-General of UN Tourism, representatives of Switzerland and Armenia, government officials of our partner countries, representatives of the diplomatic corps,
The entire team of our Ukrainian national shrine – the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – each and every person who works here so that the Lavra may endure and continue to be a true center of our strength, the spiritual strength of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, of our spiritual independence, and one of the historical and cultural sources of our Ukrainian statehood,
Today is a holiday. Today, we mark the 975th anniversary of the Lavra. It is very symbolic. Indeed, almost a millennium – longer than the history of individual people, families, or generations. And yet still less than everything that unites us – unites us into a community, unites us into a nation, unites us into a state. Unites us as Ukraine.
Here, at the Lavra, and in our other places like this – in our national shrines – you feel that you are part of something much greater, truly greater and longer-lasting than your personal story, your personal experiences, and your personal memory. When our Lavra was being saved from the fire after the Russian “shahed” strike, all of us felt what exactly was being saved and what exactly was at risk here. It was not simply about buildings and walls. It was about what allows all of us to feel that this, too, is our home, and what allows us to be confident that centuries after us, Ukrainians will feel exactly the same here as we do – that this is part of their home. A part of Ukraine, a part of the Ukrainian people – of their spirit, their culture, and their statehood. Theirs, and no one else’s. And when we enter St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. Or when we see the sacred churches of our Chernihiv. Or when we enter St. George’s Cathedral in Lviv. Or, when we are in our Zakarpattia, in the Horyanska Rotunda. Or when we visit Taras Hill, Chyhyryn, Subotiv, Kholodnyi Yar. Or when we promise to restore the Skovoroda estate in the Kharkiv region, which the Russians burned down, and when we reach agreements on air defense missiles to protect our Odesa. We feel the same thing – that none of this is about someone else, and it is not about separate sites or dots on a map. It is about us. About our wonderful state. About Ukraine. About our life. Literally about everything that is part of us. It is easy for all of us to recognize our own when we see the blue and yellow colors. And it is the same here – when we feel admiration for this beauty, contemplate the grandeur of our history, or when people simply stand here in prayer in our shrine – we can be absolutely certain that the person beside us feels something wonderful and something similar, or perhaps literally the very same thing that we do. The values that unite us all. The spirit that stands behind these walls. We must preserve every one – I am certain of this – every one of our national shrines like this. And all the more so now, when the challenges of the passage of time have been compounded by the challenges of Russia’s utterly godless and asinine war against Ukraine and our people, and against all the places of our culture, our history, our memory – against all places that embody humanity. You have to be utterly despicable and utterly witless to strike the Lavra, but Russia did it. And throughout this war – as Russian strikes have damaged the Lavra, damaged St. Sophia, burned hundreds of churches across Ukraine, damaged even Babyn Yar here in Kyiv and Drobytsky Yar in our Kharkiv region, destroyed dozens of houses of worship and museums, and museum collections – places of our culture, places of our spirit – all of this underscores how important it is for us to focus on preserving Ukraine’s heritage, our people, our life, and to draw even more global attention to what this war is, what Russia is waging it against, and what exactly Ukrainians are defending. Today, representatives of UNESCO and our partners around the world are here with us, as are representatives of countries working with us, with Ukraine. I want to thank everyone for standing with us and honoring our statehood, honoring our spirit, honoring Ukraine. But much more must be done to stop this war, to protect this beauty, and to ensure that the history of our Ukrainian shrines continues. That it has a future. That it has life.
Today, I signed a decree on measures at the state level to protect Ukraine’s national shrines. A law on our Ukrainian national shrines will be prepared for Ukraine’s Independence Day. We discussed this with Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk. I ask Parliament to support the relevant law, so that it clearly defines what constitutes our national shrines and what steps are needed to protect our shrines throughout the entire territory of our state. And this status – the status of Ukraine’s national shrines – enshrined in law, should give more opportunities to the teams of our shrines – to everyone working to protect Ukrainian heritage – strengthening them in their working conditions, financial capacity, and political and legal tools for protecting our Ukrainian shrines, our museum collections, and our heritage. I very much expect a new approach to this work from all our state institutions. We need more initiative from you, a greater ability to seek out and secure resources and funding around the world so that Ukrainian heritage is protected. We need more systematic steps by the state to work with our partners to establish Russia’s accountability, and that of its war criminals, for strikes against Ukraine’s cultural and spiritual heritage – and therefore against the heritage of Europe and all humanity. We need more cooperation with UNESCO and other international institutions that protect humanity and culture. More of our Ukrainian shrines deserve to become part of the UNESCO World Heritage List and receive the corresponding attention, protection, and opportunities for restoration. We need more political and sanctions-related work to protect the shrines of our people throughout the entire territory of Ukraine – including in temporarily occupied Crimea and other parts of our temporarily occupied land. No one but us will take care of preserving the places of Ukraine’s spiritual strength and memory of the Crimean Tatar people. No one but us will unite the world so that humanity, culture, and history prevail in this confrontation with Russia. All of this must be done. And I thank everyone who is truly doing it.
And today, on the Feast of the Dormition, here at the holy Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, let us all promise one another that Ukraine will endure, that our national shrines will endure, that you will make every possible effort for this, and that our children, our grandchildren, and all other generations of Ukrainians, when they come here, to our Lavra, and to our other national shrines, will be able to see here not Russia, but, definitely, a normal, dignified human life. Not Russia, but Ukraine’s life. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who defends our state, defends Ukraine, defends the people of Ukraine! Congratulations to all of you on the Feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos! And on the birthday of our beautiful Lavra. 975 years.
Glory to Ukraine!
