Volodymyr Zelenskyy – 2022 Statement on the Situation in Ukraine (24/06/2022) – 121 days
The statement made by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, on 24 June 2022.
Ukrainians!
All our defenders!
45 Russian missiles over the night and morning of today. Zhytomyr region, Lviv region, Chernihiv region, Mykolaiv. In the evening – more missiles. Different types, different launch areas… All of them were launched with one goal – to show that Russia allegedly can achieve something, that the Russian army will allegedly succeed.
Today marks the fifth month of a full-scale war. The occupiers were going to capture most of our country on the fifth day, but have to stage such a missile show on the fifth month, which does not change anything strategically for Russia. This is such a phase of the war – morally difficult, emotionally difficult. When we know that the enemy will not succeed, when we understand that we will still be able to defend our state, but we do not feel the time limits of this, we do not feel how many more strikes, losses, efforts will be before we see that victory is already on our horizon.
For this, Russia needs these missile strikes at cities across the country, artillery and mortar shelling of the border areas of our state, the border areas of the Chernihiv, Sumy regions, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk region. It is not just the destruction of our infrastructure, it is also a very cynical, calculated pressure on the emotions of our people.
But it’s not us who will be overpowered, we will overpower them. No Russian missiles, no strikes can break the morale of Ukrainians. And each of their missiles is an argument in our negotiations with partners.
I will take part in the G7 Summit on Monday. The NATO Summit will take place next week. 45 missiles in half a day and just on the eve of such meetings. All clear. Another confirmation of our position. This confirms that sanctions packages against Russia are not enough, that Ukraine needs more armed assistance, and that air defense systems – the modern systems that our partners have – should be not in training areas or storage facilities, but in Ukraine, where they are now needed. Needed more than anywhere else in the world.
And one more thing that should be said today after such a missile attack. In the four months of the war, more than 20,000 Ukrainian warriors were awarded state awards. More precisely, 20,463. These are the Armed Forces, the National Guard, border guards, our rescuers, police, intelligence, Security Service, our doctors, State Security Administration, State Special Communications Service, NABU special forces, State Bureau of Investigation and employees of the Judicial Security Service… 156 warriors were awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. This is the scale of courage, this is the level of resistance. And if there are more than 20 thousand of those whose feat has already been awarded, what kind of missiles can anyone in Russia hope for? What artillery, what mines can help the occupiers, if they are really opposed by mass people’s resistance?
Therefore, all our cities: Severodonetsk, Donetsk, Luhansk – we will return everything. Every week we go to Kherson. Melitopol, Berdyansk, Enerhodar and Mariupol were never forgotten. And all other cities of Ukraine that are temporarily occupied will be Ukrainian only. Thanks to our heroes, thanks to each and everyone who does not get tired, who does not succumb to emotional breakdowns, who struggles and who knows that victory is ahead. Our victory, only ours.
Eternal glory to all who defend Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!
