Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (15/11/2022)

The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 15 November 2022.

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

Today was a very productive and symbolic day – a day in the Kherson region, in the Mykolaiv region.

First of all, I had the honor of personally presenting our warriors with state awards. In Kherson, I presented 36 orders of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and “For Courage”, and handed over three more orders to wounded warriors.

In particular, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi of the 1st degree. In September, he became the commander of the Kherson operational-strategic group of troops, and we can see the result.

The title of Hero of Ukraine was awarded to intelligence officer, sergeant Andriy Orlov. Back in September, he showed extraordinary bravery and effectiveness in battles in the Kherson region. He was wounded and recovered. Returned to the frontline. And already on November 10, as part of a reconnaissance unit, he took part in the liberation of Snihurivka. It was he who raised the Ukrainian flag over the district administration building.

Of course, there will be more awards, there will be more gratitude. All our warriors who restore freedom to Ukrainians and the Ukrainian land deserve the utmost gratitude. It is so. It will be so.

I held several meetings today – both in the Kherson region and in the Mykolaiv region. We will do everything to restore normal living conditions for our people.

It is obvious to everyone what Ukraine is, what the presence of our flag is. When there is a Ukrainian flag, there is civilization, there is freedom. There is social security. There is infrastructure. There is security. There is someone to take care of people. There are all the things that disappear and that are destroyed when the occupier comes.

This is what the Russian flag means – complete desolation. There is no electricity, no communication, no Internet, no television. The occupiers destroyed everything themselves – on purpose. This is their special operation. On the eve of winter, the Russian occupiers destroyed absolutely all critical infrastructure for the people. Absolutely all important objects in the city and region are mined.

It is happiness for everyone when Russia is driven out. Happiness, which will also be in those cities and communities of ours, which are deprived of a normal life by Russia both after February 24 and in 2014. We will return everything. We will return normal life. And we know that peace for Ukraine is getting closer. For our entire country.

In a few hours, I will talk about this in my address to the participants of the… G19 summit in Indonesia. This is an association of very influential states. And today, on the eve of the summit, influential statements have already been made.

In particular, it is important that the United States and China jointly noted the inadmissibility of any threats to use nuclear weapons. Everyone understands whom these words are addressed to.

Today, we also have decisions from our partners that strengthen Ukraine’s position. I am grateful to Canada for the new package of defense support for our country in the amount of half a billion dollars. And also for new sanctions against Russian accomplices of tyranny – against the cogs of this system.

I am grateful to the United States for the new sanctions. Today, sanctions have been introduced against more than 40 legal entities and individuals who help Russia wage a war. Absolutely everyone who in one way or another works for the Russian army, the defense sector, must receive complete personal isolation from the rest of the world. And then there will be punishment for complicity in terror.

Within the UN, our diplomats worked for a long time with partners to agree on and adopt two very important resolutions. The first of them is supported today – regarding the creation of an international compensation mechanism that will make it possible to compensate all the losses caused by the Russian war, moreover at the expense of Russian assets. The reparations that Russia will have to pay for what it has committed are now part of the international legal reality.

We are still agreeing with our partners on the second resolution – to create a special tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine. We will do everything to make them both work.

Today, a meeting of the Coordination Council of Ukraine for Child Protection and Safety co-chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Head of the Office Andriy Yermak was held. I thank Mr. Guterres for that.

They discussed how to stop the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and return home all those who were forcibly deported. At least these are almost 11 thousand children – we know them by name. But these are only the ones we know about. And in fact, there are more deported.

The meeting was also attended by the ambassadors of the leading states, whom we call on to help with the implementation of this task. We will really need the power of the whole world to bring back all the deportees.

I believe that we can ensure it!

I am grateful to everyone who helps Ukraine!

I am grateful to everyone who fights and works for our country!

Eternal memory to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine and our people.

Glory to Ukraine!