Volodymyr Zelenskyy

"Якщо весь демократичний світ побудований на ідеї свободи, тоді чому ви часто відчуваєте себе самотніми у захисті свободи? Якщо свобода є універсальною цінністю, тоді чому інші нації, які борються за свободу, ніколи не отримують рівної підтримки? Що ж відділяє нас один від одного в критичні моменти? Політики на це не відповість. Немає експертів, які можуть це пояснити та виправити. Відповіді також не знайдеш у ЗМІ. Бо йдеться про щось за межами слів."

"Спочатку всією країною ми довели, що маємо гідність. Не побоялися водометів і кийків. А дехто не побоявся і снайперських куль. Тоді всією країною ми дізналися, що сотня може бути небесною. А згодом на нашу землю прийшла війна. Яку ми зустріли всією країною."

"Кожен мій ранок починається з sms-повідомлення. Це sms від Генерального штабу. За минулу добу обстрілів – сім, втрат – дві. Цифри можуть бути різними, але тільки одна робить ранок добрим. Це – нуль. Обстрілів – нуль. Втрат – нуль."

"In today's world, where we live, there is no longer someone else’s war. None of you can feel safe when there is a war in Ukraine, when there is a war in Europe. You can't think of the global and close your eyes to the details. Only one thing remains unchanged: contradictions between nations and states are still resolved not by words, but by missiles. Not by word. But by war."

"Politics is like bad cinema — people overact, take it too far. When I speak with politicians, I see this in their facial expressions, their eyes, the way they squint. I look at things like a producer. I would often watch a scene on the monitor, and the director and I would yell, ‘Stop, no more, this is unwatchable! No one will believe this.’"

"Unless we make these difficult and unpopular decisions, there will be no economic growth or job creation."

"Chance of ending the war...As soon as possible. I want to believe that it will be this year. I really want to believe it and I DO believe, I do. If it was only up to me, if it depended only on me…"

"I will personally do everything possible to return Crimea so that it becomes part of Europe together with Ukraine."

"Today I initiated a phone call with the president of the Russian federation. The result was silence. Though the silence should be in Donbass. That's why I want to address today the people of Russia. I am addressing you not as a president, I am addressing you as a citizen of Ukraine. More than 2,000 km of the common border is dividing us (between Ukraine and Russia). Along this border your troops are stationed, almost 200,000 soldiers, thousands of military vehicles. Your leaders approved them to make a step forward, to the territory of another country (Ukraine). And this step can be the beginning of a big war on European continent. We know for sure that we don't need the war. Not a Cold War, not a hot war. Not a hybrid one. But if we'll be attacked by the troops, if they try to take our country away from us, our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children, we will defend ourselves. Not attack, but defend ourselves. And when you will be attacking us, you will see our faces, not our backs, but our faces. The war is a big disaster, and this disaster has a high price. With every meaning of this word. People lose money, reputation, quality of life, they lose freedom. But the main thing is that people lose their loved ones, they lose themselves. They told you that Ukraine is posing a threat to Russia. It was not the case in the past, not in the present, it's not going to be in the future. You are demanding security guarantees from NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization), but we also demand security guarantees. Security for Ukraine from you, from Russia and other guarantees of the Budapest memorandum. But our main goal is peace in Ukraine and the safety of our people, Ukrainians. For that we are ready to have talks with anybody, including you, in any format, on any platform. The war will deprive (security) guarantees from everybody — nobody will have guarantees of security anymore. Who will suffer the most from it? The people. Who doesn't want it the most? The people! Who can stop it? The people. But are there those people among you? I am sure. I know that they (Russian government) won't show my address on Russian TV, but Russian people have to see it. They need to know the truth, and the truth is that it is time to stop now, before it is too late. And if the Russian leaders don't want to sit with us behind the table for the sake of peace, maybe they will sit behind the table with you. Do Russians want the war? I would like to know the answer. But the answer depends only on you, citizens of the Russian Federation."

"On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically."

"The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride."

"Without you, Ukraine is going to be lonely. We have proven our strengths, we have proven that as a minimum, we are exactly the same as you are. So, do prove that you are with us, do prove that you will not let us go, do prove that you are indeed Europeans, and then life will win over death, and light will win over darkness."

"I'm the President of Ukraine. And I'm not iconic, I think that Ukraine is iconic. And I always was sure in it. And I knew it always. I knew it, that Ukraine is a special country. Ukraine is the heart of Europe."

"This is state terrorism of the Russian Federation."

"There can be no Russian networks in Europe that split the EU from within, those that are trying to help Russia make as much money as possible even now. Everyone knows very well who in the European Union opposes humanity and common sense, and who does nothing at all to help establish peace in Ukraine. This must stop, and Europe must stop listening to any excuses from officials in Budapest."

"The war continues. Russia is sending new forces to our land to continue to destroy us, to destroy Ukrainians. We must do more to stop the war! The first and most important thing is weapons. Freedom must be armed no worse than tyranny."

"There is an ongoing negotiation process. But these are still words. So far no specifics. There are also other words about the alleged withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv. About the alleged reduction of activity of occupiers in these directions. We know that this is not a withdrawal, but the consequences of exile. Consequences of the work of our defenders. But we also see that at the same time there is an accumulation of Russian troops for new strikes in Donbas. And we are preparing for this. We do not believe anyone - we do not trust any beautiful verbal constructions. There is a real situation on the battlefield. And now - this is the most important thing. We will not give up anything. And we will fight for every meter of our land, for every our person."

"Let Moscow not forget that the sanctions policy will only be continued and intensified. As long as there is no peace — sanctions are needed. Until Russia begins to invest as sincerely in the search for peace as it invests in the destruction of our state, sanctions will remain unalterable."

"From time immemorial to the present day, mankind has been looking for heroes. People always appreciate heroes. They always support those who are brave. And always feel who is fighting for the good. During the 50 days of this war, Ukraine became a hero for the whole free world. For those who have the courage to call a spade a spade. For those who are not poisoned by propaganda. You have all become heroes. All Ukrainian men and women who withstood and do not give up. And who will win. Who will return peace to Ukraine."

"Russia calls it a "military operation", and not a war. But look what happened in Bucha. It's clear that is not even a war. It's a genocide. They just killed people, not soldiers, people. They just shot people in the streets. People were riding bicycles, taking the bus, or just walking down the street. There were corpses lying in the streets. These were not soldiers. They were civilians. They forced children to watch as they raped their mothers. Then they threw them in a well, or in mass graves. Children. Adults. The elderly."

"We are doing everything to return normal life to the de-occupied part of our Ukraine. The work of humanitarian offices has already begun in 93% of de-occupied settlements. We are actively demining the liberated territory. Every day several dozen settlements are added to the list of those where demining has been completed. 69% of de-occupied settlements are again with full-fledged local self-government. We are restoring electricity supply, communications, water supply and gas supply. We are doing everything to return normal medicine, educational services, access to financial institutions. We are restoring roads. Of course, there is still a lot of work ahead. The occupiers are still on our land and still do not recognize the apparent failure of their so-called operation. We still need to fight and direct all efforts to drive the occupiers out. And we will do it. Ukraine will be free. Kherson, Nova Kakhovka, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Dniprorudne and all other temporarily occupied cities and communities in which the occupiers are now pretending to be "masters" will be liberated. The Ukrainian flag will return wherever it should be by right. Return with a normal life, which Russia is simply unable to provide even on its own territory."

"Exactly one hundred days ago we all woke up in a different reality. Exactly one hundred days ago, different us woke up. When Ukrainians are awakened not by the sun's rays, but by the explosions of missiles that hit our homes, then completely different Ukrainians wake up. In 2014, Russia came to us with one word, with a new word. And this is the word "war". On February 24, Russia added another word to it, making the phrase "full-scale war.""

"This is what Russia wants. A primitive plot in three acts for the world to make three dramatic mistakes. To get used to the war. To put up with the war. To forget about the war. This intention should never succeed. … Your position is important, your voice is influential, your word is loud. The least you can do today, or rather, NOT do, is not to be silent, not to be afraid, not to turn away, not to pass by and not to be indifferent to the war in Ukraine, which was unleashed by Russia."

"Ukraine will continue to defend itself and will win in this war waged against us. Because we are on our land. The truth is on our side. And the whole civilized world is with us. We are fighting for what is true for any people on the planet - for life and freedom, for the right to happiness for all our families, for all our children."

"Ukrainians! Today is Forgiveness Sunday. A day when we always apologized. To each other. To all people. To God. But today, it seems, many have not mentioned this day at all. Have not mentioned the obligatory words: "Forgive me." And the obligatory answer: "God forgives, and I forgive." These words seem to have lost their meaning today. At least in part. After everything we went through. We will not forgive the destroyed houses. We will not forgive the missile that our air defense shot down over Okhmatdyt today. And more than five hundred other such missiles that hit our land. All over Ukraine. Hit our people and children. We will not forgive the shooting of unarmed people. Destruction of our infrastructure. We. Will. Not. Forgive. Hundreds and hundreds of victims. Thousands and thousands of sufferings. And God will not forgive. Not today. Not tomorrow. Never. And instead of Forgiveness, there will be a Day of Judgment. I'm sure of it."

"There was a lot of talk about humanitarian corridors. Every day they talked about the opportunity for people to get out of the cities where Russia moved in, the Russian military. I am grateful to every Ukrainian and everyone who stays around to defend our cities, our freedom. But I also know that there are people who really need to flee, who can't stay, and we heard the promise that there will be humanitarian corridors. There are none! Instead of humanitarian corridors, they can only ensure bloody ones."

"Right now the destiny of our country is being decided. The destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities; it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom, against our right to live freely in our own country choosing our own future."

"Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs, they use drones to kill us with precision. This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for our life for an answer to this terror from the whole world."

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends, Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support, for everything that your government and your people have done for us, for weapons and ammunition for training, for finances, for leadership in the free world, which helps us to pressure the aggressor economically. I’m grateful to President Biden for his personal involvement, for his sincere commitment to the defense of Ukraine and democracy all over the world. I am grateful to you for the resolution which recognizes all those who commit crimes against Ukraine, against the Ukrainian people as war criminals. However, now, it is true in the darkest time for our country, for the whole Europe, I call on you to do more. New packages of sanctions are needed, constantly, every week until the Russian military machine stops."

"We already became part of the anti-war coalition, a big anti-war coalition that unites many countries, dozens of countries, those who reacted in principle to President Putin’s decision to invade our country, but we need to move on and do more. We need to create new tools to respond quickly and stop the war, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24th. And it would be fair if it ended in a day, that in 24 hours, that evil would be punished immediately. Today the world does not have such tools."

"The wars of the past have prompted our predecessors to create institutions that should protect us from war, but they unfortunately don’t work. We see it, you see it, so we need new ones, new institutions, new alliances and we offer them. We propose to create an association U-24 united for peace, a union of responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflicts immediately, provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours, if necessary, even weapons if necessary, sanctions, humanitarian support, political support, finances, everything you need to keep the peace and quickly save the world, save lives. In addition, such association, such union would provide assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, man-made disasters, who fell victims to humanitarian crisis or epidemic."

"[Spoken in English]: Today the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe and the world ... in the name of the future. That’s why today the American people are helping not just Ukraine, but Europe and the world, to keep the planet alive, to keep justice in history. Now I’m almost 45 years old. Today my age stopped when the heart of more than 100 children stopped beating. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. And this is my main issue as the leader of my people, great Ukrainians, and as the leader of my nation, I am addressing the President Biden, you are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace."

"I'm sure you saw the news today that the Russian military command allegedly decided to "reduce hostilities in the directions of Kyiv and Chernihiv." Well, the same can be said about Chornobaivka — as if the Russian aviation simply decided to fly less, and the Russian military vehicles — to drive less. I am grateful to all our defenders, to all those who ensure the defense of Kyiv. It is their brave and effective actions that force the enemy to retreat in this direction. However, we should not lose vigilance. The situation has not become easier. The scale of the challenges has not diminished. The Russian army still has significant potential to continue attacks against our state. They still have a lot of equipment and enough people completely deprived of rights whom they can send to the cauldron of war. Therefore, we stay alert and do not reduce our defense efforts."

"The enemy is still in our territory. The shelling of our cities continues. Mariupol is blocked. Missile and air strikes do not stop. This is the reality. These are the facts. That is why the Armed Forces of Ukraine, our intelligence and all those who have joined the defense of the state are the only guarantee of our survival today. As a nation. As a state. The guarantee that works."

"Yes, we can call positive the signals we hear from the negotiating platform. But these signals do not silence the explosion of Russian shells. Of course, we see all the risks. Of course, we see no reason to trust the words of certain representatives of a state that continues to fight for our destruction. Ukrainians are not naive people. Ukrainians have already learned during these 34 days of invasion and over the past eight years of the war in Donbas that only a concrete result can be trusted."

"Yes, there is an ongoing negotiation process. But these are still words. So far no specifics. There are also other words about the alleged withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv. About the alleged reduction of activity of occupiers in these directions. We know that this is not a withdrawal, but the consequences of exile. Consequences of the work of our defenders. But we also see that at the same time there is an accumulation of Russian troops for new strikes in Donbas. And we are preparing for this."

"We do not believe anyone - we do not trust any beautiful verbal constructions. There is a real situation on the battlefield."

"And now - this is the most important thing. We will not give up anything. And we will fight for every meter of our land, for every person."

"Today this address will be without greetings. I do not want any extra words. Presidents do not usually record addresses like this. But today I have to say just that. After what was revealed in Bucha and our other cities the occupiers were expelled from. Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses on the streets. Mined area. Even the bodies of the dead were mined! The pervasive consequences of looting. Concentrated evil has come to our land. Murderers. Torturers. Rapists. Looters. Who call themselves the army. And who deserve only death after what they did."

"I want all the leaders of the Russian Federation to see how their orders are being fulfilled. Such orders. Such a fulfillment. And joint responsibility. For these murders, for these tortures, for these arms torn off by explosions that lie on the streets. For shots in the back of the head of tied people. This is how the Russian state will now be perceived. This is your image. Your culture and human appearance perished together with the Ukrainian men and women to whom you came."

"The world has already seen many war crimes. At different times. On different continents. But it is time to do everything possible to make the war crimes of the Russian military the last manifestation of such evil on earth."

"We drove the enemy out of several regions. But Russian troops still control the occupied areas of other regions. And after the expulsion of the occupiers, even worse things can be found there. Even more deaths and tortures. Because this is the nature of the Russian military who came to our land. These are bastards who can't do otherwise. And they had such orders. All partners of Ukraine will be informed in detail about what happened in the temporarily occupied territory of our state. War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will also be considered by the UN Security Council on Tuesday. There will definitely be a new package of sanctions against Russia. But I'm sure that's not enough. More conclusions are needed. Not only about Russia, but also about the political behavior that actually allowed this evil to come to our land."

"We see what’s at stake in this war. We see what we are defending. There are standards of the Ukrainian army - moral and professional. And it is not our army that has to adjust now. These are many other armies that should learn from our military. And there are standards of the Ukrainian people. And there are standards of the Russian occupiers. This is good and evil. This is Europe and a black hole that wants to tear it all apart and absorb."

"I am sure the time will come and the whole line of the state border of Ukraine will be restored. And for this to happen sooner, we must all be focused, ready to boldly face evil and respond to every criminal act against Ukraine, against our people, against our freedom. Evil will be punished. Glory to Ukraine!"

"We need security guarantees from countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Turkey, Germany, and Poland, who can be security guarantors. I also invite India to be a security guarantor if they’d be willing."

"Speaking exclusively to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, in a big statement of intent, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he's ready to meet Russia's President Vladimir Putin and also simultanously carry on the diplomatic path without stressing on getting security guarantees. Zelenskyy said, "We don't want the war to continue for long and for us talks are more important than getting security guarantees ahead of dialogue," also adding he doesn't want to put any conditions before the talks begin, Zelenskyy affirmed, "We don't want to put any preconditions to talks with Putin, security guarantees can happen in parallel.""

"Zelensky in the interview with Arnab , “UN can do a lot. Simply using the words, we are concerned about it is not enough to stop the war. We have heard “concern” for 8 years.” The Ukrainian President said, adding that “they need to establish isolation against Russia. There must be a diplomatic response”. Heard Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking to India’s Republic TV, Arnab Goswami on 07 April 2022 on day 43 of Russia Ukraine war. Highlights of the virtual Arnab-Zelenskyyinterview Starting off by thanking Republic for the opportunity to “talk to ordinary people through the channel”, Zelensky reiterated that he has “no other willingness but to put an end to the war – ‘Genocide’. “This war must end. This war is on our territory not on the territory of Russia. I don’t want to lose the citizens of Ukraine”. In a big statement of intent, Ukraine’s President Zelensky has said he’s ready to meet Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. “We don’t want to put any preconditions to talks with Putin, security guarantees can happen in parallel.” “Faster we meet, lesser casualties.” “I am ready to talk about temporarily occupied Crimea, and Donbas. I am ready for talks on any topic, but with the head of the Russian Federation, with President Putin”. Ukraine is seeking “security guarantees” from the world including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Turkey, Germany, and Poland. He also invited India to be one of the guarantors. “We are not stepping back. We will fight for all those cities under Russian occupation. We have full control of Odesa, it’s a very difficult situation in Mariupol. We will struggle till we can restore territorial integrity.” “If the world would like to end this war, it needs to supply us with heavy weapons. We don’t want to conquer any land of Russia; we want these on our land… We have never used weapons to attack the Russian Federation. We have used weapons to defend ourselves.” “Sanctions would be like weapons, sanctions should be like nuclear weapons, sanctions are like modern state of the art weapons…Impose all the sanctions, powerful sanctions…Do not pretend you are trying to support Ukraine but continue economic relations with Russia. Half measures won’t work “."

"On India’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, Zelenskyy said, “I understand that it is difficult to keep a balance between relationships with Ukraine and Russia…We thank you for the humanitarian assistance, but I’d like Narendra Modi to think of being a security guarantor for Ukraine. Willing to have powerful relationship with India.”"

"This was emphasized by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with India’s Republic Media Network, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "The fact that we are not being given weapons by certain world leaders or world actors, this may prolong the war. Because we are not going to give up. And without heavy weapons, it will be a longer process of war. We will fight back, they then they can withdraw again, get new equipment, accumulate more forces and attack us again, they will occupy new cities, and we will fight again, so as long as our country remains without heavy weapons, this war will continue for a longer period ... If the world wants this war to be over, we need to be given heavy weapons very quickly. And we will be strong," said the president. He noted that the issue of transferring heavy weaponry to Ukraine is currently being agreed upon, which means that the Ukrainian Army does not have these weapons yet. Read also: Zelensky says the sooner he meets with Putin, the fewer victims there will be "We have weapons only once they are on our territory. And anything prior to that is just a process, not a result. So now we are in the process. And in this process it is impossible to fight. You can be powerful when you have weapons," said Zelensky. At the same time, the president assured that Ukraine does not intend and never intended to seize the territory of the Russian Federation, which perhaps is what the West fears. "We never considered this, we don't need any Russian towns, any of their people. We only fight for our land. Therefore, when these weapons arrive, we will be able to push the enemy out of our land. We only need what’s ours," the president emphasized."

"Немає таких тираній, які б не намагалися обмежити мистецтво, оскільки вони бачать його силу. Мистецтво може розповісти світу речі, які не можуть бути висловлені іншим способом."