Address of the President of Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine

This office, this small room in the bunker on Bankova, this is where I had my first conversations with world leaders at the beginning of the war. I spoke with President Biden here and it was here that I heard: "Vladimir, there is a threat, you need to leave Ukraine urgently. We are ready to help with this. " And I answered here that I need a weapon, not a taxi. And not because we are all so fearless or so steely.

We are all living people, and on that day, all of us, all Ukrainians, were both afraid and hurt, and many were shocked, and many did not know what to say, but on some. . . on some invisible level, we all knew that we do not have another Ukraine. This is our home, and we all knew what had to be done. It was such a choice. The choice that millions of Ukrainian men and women made then. Our people did not raise the white flag, but defended the blue-yellow one.

And the occupiers, who thought that they would be greeted by queues with flowers, saw queues at the military commissariat. Our people chose resistance. And our soldiers - they stood strong, and civilians defended the cities, defended our villages, streets, yards, ordinary people, absolutely, stopped the convoys of equipment with a living wall. And all of them together suggested the only true path to lost Russia. Everyone understood: every tomorrow must be earned.

Ukraine had to stand, the state should stand despite everything. And despite everything, our Ukraine had to work. A lot has been done right here - we have never shown this object before. Now it's empty, of course, but at the beginning of the war. . . at the beginning of the war there were hundreds of people here. I worked here, then I went upstairs, I addressed you, the people.

Here was our team, the government, daily meetings with the military, calls, search for solutions - everything necessary for Ukraine to survive. Weapons had to be delivered. Medicines and food were delivered to cities blocked by the enemy. To have the life that Ukraine is so desperately fighting for.

And, to be honest, well, it happened differently, and here both official language and non-literary language sounded, because every aid package, every sanction against Russia, every batch of weapons - all this had to be really. . . really bitten off. To gnaw faith in Ukraine. Make the world turn on. And this was the key message of appeals to European countries, to the US Congress, to most parliaments of the world.

And to people, of course, to ordinary people, to millions all over the world: be with us, be with Ukraine, believe in us, stand with Ukraine, be brave like Ukraine! These appeals worked, because the Ukrainians fought in such a way that it took your breath away. And this resistance was visible from space. It was inspiring, absolutely, so very soon everyone saw this blue-yellow sea - thousands of people with our flags in the squares of Europe and the world.

And so gradually, with difficulty, step by step, brick by brick, Ukraine built the support that allowed it to endure: when we endured the first day of the war, the longest in our lives. And then another one. And one more. And then a week. Two. And then. . . and then the moon. And we saw spring. We won it when it seemed that this February would never end. We got our first spring during the great war. It was a turning point, and for the first time everyone had the following thought: we can do it. Ukraine can.

I really like the phrase that everyone reposted at the time. This is a peculiar summary of the first stage of a full-scale war, when Ukraine said: "Do you think I went to my knees? I just tied my boots. " And there was a way ahead. And even this long tunnel cannot contain a millionth part of the pain that Ukraine has experienced during this time. The pain that Russia brought to each of our families, to each Ukrainian heart. Butch Irpin Bearded lady Mass graves. Gostomel. "Dream". Kharkiv. Mykolaiv ODE.

Kakhov dam. Zaporizhzhia NPP. Kremenchuk and Kryvyi Rih. Ternopil and Lviv. Olenivka Chasiv Yar. Kyiv. "Okhmatdit". Kramatorsk Station. Toy. Mariupol Drama theater The inscription "Children". Odesa. Multi-storey building. Girl. Three months. Vilniansk. Puerperal. Baby. Two days. . . Men don't fight like that. People don't act like that. Ukrainians will not forget this. And let these shots be seen by everyone who does not have a conscience, who still extends a hand to Russian evil and still buys oil from Putin.

But all this time we do not let anger eat us from the inside, Ukrainians turn their own rage into energy for struggle and prove: you can force us to go down into the vault, but it is impossible to drive Ukraine underground forever. We will certainly rise, return, we continue to fight, because we are fighting for life. For the right to stand on one's land, to breathe one's air.

And Ukraine knows these feelings well, when, despite everything, after the repulse, we climb up and when hope rises with us from the bomb shelter, always flies to the sky, when the Ukrainian flag rises up - when it returned and returns to where it should be by right. And this is the next important stage of our struggle, when Ukraine not only resisted and not only maintains its defense, but also when Ukraine surrenders. When entire cities made history. Hero cities. Cities of heroes.

Which went forward. There were the first offensives, the first successes, and something that cannot be forgotten: the first eyes - the eyes of Ukrainians who were waiting for theirs. Balaklia, Izyum, Kupyansk, Kherson. And everyone saw how they chased the occupiers from Kyiv region, Sumy region, Chernihiv region. And everyone learned about the Ukrainian teleport for enemies to the other world - Chornobayivka. They saw how Russian ultimatums became gestures of goodwill. How Zmeiny became ours again.

How the word "cotton" got a new meaning, and how we rejoiced when the first "cotton" was heard in Russia. This is not gloating, it's just the way justice sounds in Ukrainian. It sounds "stugna", "alder", "Neptune" and the rumble with which the cruiser "Moscow" went to the bottom. Then it was an event, later it became a tradition. And little else warms the soul of Ukrainians as much as footage of burning enemy military facilities and its refineries. When it first happened, it was big news.

Now - almost daily. And what used to seem fantastic has now become the norm. "Patriots", "iris", "nasamsy", F-16. And something more: our weapons, our range. Just realize: Ukraine has gone from the point when we were handed "Bronics" to the point where we ourselves make more than 3 million efpivishoks a year. From the time when we admired "javelins" and "bairaktars" to the day when we have our own "January", "mountain", "vampire", "burner", "hell", "ruta", "flamingo".

From the request to close the sky to the ability to shoot down hundreds of "shaheed" in a night. From hedgehogs and fortifications on the streets of Kyiv to the Kursk operation and "The Web". But even this is not enough - we will do more, because Russia does not stop, unfortunately, and fights with all methods against peace, against us, against people.

Putin understands that he is not capable of defeating Ukraine on the battlefield, and the "second army of the world" is at war with high-rise buildings and power plants. And now Ukrainians are overcoming the hardest winter in history. And terror almost every night. And I don't know who else would have endured such a thing, not crumbled, not shaken. Ukrainians do it. It is very tiring, for sure.

What other people can do that? Despite the war, all these attacks, all the trials of defeating evil, defeating despair, despair. And hold on. And stay united. And with all this - to get results everywhere. Recover every time after attacks. Always fill our air defense with missiles. Go to work every morning. Constantly hold positions. To speak with the world as equals. To win candidacy for the EU, to return home thousands of our prisoners.

And make every international platform - from Davos to the UN - pro-Ukrainian. Making Ukraine's voice loud in the world, winning at Eurovision, taking home the Oscar and Bafta, being absolute world champions in boxing and proving that Ukrainians have the honor of the highest test is much more valuable than any gold of this spineless IOC. From each such act, from all such steps, achievements, small victories, a great Ukraine is formed. Big, because she has you. People who inspire the planet.

We remember how the first foreign leaders arrived in Ukraine at the beginning of this war. And the term "official visit" cannot even one iota convey what these meetings were for us. We understood who is really our brother and friend, who was not afraid, did not hesitate, who kept his name and did not worry about how not to anger Putin. I want to thank every leader who chose the bright side of history - chose Ukraine. In Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia. To everyone, everyone who is with us.

And I really want to come here one day with the President of the United States. I know for sure: only after visiting Ukraine and seeing with your own eyes our life and struggle, feeling our people and this sea of ​​pain, is the only way to understand what this war is really about. And through whom. Who is the aggressor here? Who needs to be pressured. To understand that Ukraine protects life, fights for it. And this is not a street fight.

This is an attack by a sick state on a sovereign one, and to understand that Putin is the cause of this war. He is the cause of the beginning and the obstacle to its end. And it is necessary to put Russia in its place so that there is real peace. They say time heals. I'm not sure. At least I don't know how long it will take to heal all our wounds. All these painful questions "how much?", which make you burn inside.

How many tears have been shed? How many attacks, insidious blows? How many scars on the heart? How many flags are there in our cemeteries? How many names? Da Vinci. Toast Jus. Zheka Quiet. North. Petrychenko. Matsievskyi Sailor Vitalii Skakun. Pilot Oleksandr Oksanchenko. Daria Lopatina, Delta. Lana Chornogorska, Sati. Julia Berezyuk. Margarita Polovinko. Thousands, thousands of heroes who gave their lives so that Ukraine would live. Our defense warriors. Our guardian angels.

I'm sure they told God the whole truth about this war. About how we defend ourselves. We protect our land, life, independence, our culture, history, our Sofia, our people. One thousand four hundred and sixty-two days of full-scale war. Twelve years since the beginning of Russia's aggression. For someone - a whole life. Of course, we all want the war to end. But no one will allow Ukraine to end. We want peace. Strong, worthy, long.

And before each round of negotiations, I give our team very clear directives. It always follows closed decrees, but I will definitely not reveal a state secret if I say my main message: not to nullify all these years, not to devalue all the struggle, courage, dignity, everything that Ukraine has gone through. You can't, you can't give it away, forget it, betray it.

That is why there are so many rounds of negotiations and a battle for every word, for every point, for real security guarantees, so that the agreement is strong. History looks at us carefully. The agreement must not just be signed, it must be accepted - accepted by Ukrainians. Dear people! The strength that has kept us going all these years is you, our people. Our opposition is you. Ukrainians. Ukrainian women Anyone who doesn't give up. Maybe our eyes are tired, but our backs are steadfast.

I want to thank each and every one who holds independence on their shoulders. To each warrior - for strength. To your parents, children, wives, husbands - for endurance. I thank everyone who makes Ukraine stronger with their work. Who brings back light and warmth to our home. Who treats, volunteers, who teaches. And who studies at university or school. But he learns the most important thing - to be human, to be Ukrainian. I am proud of you. I believe in everyone.

To all whom I have the honor to address without any exaggeration: great people of great Ukraine. Remembering the beginning of the invasion and looking at today, we have every right to say: we defended our independence, we did not lose our statehood, Ukraine exists, and not only on the map. Ukraine is a subject of international relations. Our capital is Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kramatorsk, Odesa, Lviv, and other cities. Putin did not achieve his goals.

Did not break the Ukrainians. Did not win this war. We saved Ukraine, and we will do everything to win peace. And that there was justice. Spring is less than a week away. We are overcoming the hardest winter in history. This is a fact. And it is very difficult. It's not easy for all of you. But just like on the first day of the war, we continue to build our tomorrow - step by step, case by case, victory after victory. And every result, every success, every "Ukraine was able" is the merit of all of you.