PRESS RELEASE : President of Ukraine in Davos – There is no notion of distance for the occupation, the most important thing is to stop any aggressor from the very beginning

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 24 May 2022.

Today, Ukraine is fighting for freedom and independence, for the values of all mankind, so the countries of the free world must support our state so that their citizens do not have to face the horrors of war. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during an online conversation at the Ukrainian House in Davos.

“Our task is to ensure that the world doesn’t get tired of war and keeps supporting Ukraine, because we are fighting for the values that people live by, the values they breathe like oxygen,” the President said.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine expects support from the West, including the necessary defense and financial assistance, as well as strengthening sanctions against Russia.

“There is no notion of distance for the occupation, the most important thing is to stop any aggressor from the very beginning,” the President said.

“Ukraine is the first. It is on the border with Russia, which is going on the offensive today. If we fall, if Ukraine does not endure – Russia will move on. And then it will go to the Baltic states – Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia. These are small states that, even if the three of them unite, will not be able to protect those values. And then the military of NATO member states will have to come here. And in order for the military of NATO countries, your families, not to see what we see, you need to help Ukraine,” he explained.

The Head of State noted that almost 100 Ukrainian servicemen die every day in battles with the Russian aggressor, but the Russian authorities do not care how many of their soldiers died in this war, and they do not even think about burying them.

“We have tens of thousands of black packages with people who are not taken away by Russia. These are their soldiers,” the President of Ukraine said.

He told how he presented orders to the families of servicemen who were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. According to him, there wasn’t happiness from receiving the award, but the tragedy and tears brought by the war in the eyes of the relatives of the Heroes.

“But we have no choice, because we did not start a war. We are on our own land, we have nowhere to go. And that’s why we are strong. And that’s why we’re united. That is why we are fighting for freedom. No one wants to lose their life, but people give their lives for the future. This banal phrase – they give their life for the sake of others – contains great pain, great suffering of the Ukrainian people and any people going through the war. That’s how wars end. And it is impossible to assess this pain,” the President is convinced.

According to him, this is not a war to the last Ukrainian, but “we simply do not have the right to give away the land and the people who live on this land.”

“Therefore, there will be a victory. Because this is our land, our people, we fight for them and pay a high price. There will definitely be a victory, because there is simply no other way out,” the Head of State is convinced.

The President stressed that without the wars for independence there can be no freedom and independence, and this should be remembered by the citizens of other free democracies, whose ancestors also fought bravely for the independence of their states.

“We need weapons and sanctions, and we give you freedom and independence for that. It seems to me that this is fair,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.