It is important to do everything that Russia can never blackmail Ukraine or France-President Vladimir Zelensky's speech at the annual meeting of French entrepreneurs under the auspices
You represent people who work hard to be able to secure your children and exercise their rights. The right to live, the right to be free, the right to happiness, the right to well -being, the right to housing, to education, the right to work, to decent wages and other absolutely familiar modern human rights. And in fact, your association represents the people I represent as President of Ukraine.
Our people did not want something more than living in their own country, using their freedoms, working for their own good and future of their children. Ukraine did not go home to someone else with weapons. Ukrainians were not going to plunder some other people or a state. We took care of our social development, about our democracy, and dreamed that one day we would be with you and other peoples of Europe in the European Union. And that is why this Russian war against Ukraine began.
Russia's leadership has seen that Ukraine can become and becomes a positive example for our region. An example that democracy can give society more than dictatorship. This seems obvious in Western Europe, and in the east of our continent, and especially in the territory of the former USSR, this is not an obvious fact, it must be proved. And Ukraine did everything to prove it. Our state showed an example of how crazy oil dollar or gas -heurovro care about society.
How to create opportunities for social development. How to strengthen the regions of the state, not pump money from them. How to build a modern infrastructure. As thanks to the openness of society, the modern state institutions to create such opportunities for citizens who simply do not have others in our region. In particular, we continued to implement the digitalization of public services.
Our goal is that the relations between the citizen and the state, between any company and the state are carried out at all without the mediation of the official. This is a prerequisite for overcoming any risks of corruption and for the true freedom of people and business-what dozens of other governments cannot dare to. And the fact that every Ukrainian has in his smartphone today.
It is an action state service that gives people dozens of different opportunities: from digital documents and vaccination certificates to the ability to register a business or pay fines. We combine our economy and energy with the European market and other advanced world markets. We have deposits of natural resources that are critical to the world economy, including lithium, titanium, uranium, etc. Ukraine has already become a guarantor of world food security.
The value of our agricultural exports was manifested by one hundred percent, when Russia blocked Ukrainian ports and, as a result, the global food crisis intensified. Russia's war against Ukraine is not just a colonial war in the worst sense of these words, it is not just an effort to assign our land, resources or potential of our people.
Russia tries to destroy the hope of all peoples along with its borders and all peoples in Russia through the destruction of Ukraine in the territory of Russia itself that freedom will really work. The fact that democracy will help with development. The fact that human rights and human dignity can give society more than the mercy of some dictator there. That is why the Russian war against Ukraine is so cruel. That is why it became total from the first minute on February 24.
That is why Russian winged rockets and artillery are destroying everything from the first day. Everything that was built and developed by generations of Ukrainians. Both schools, hospitals, universities, railway stations, airports, houses of ordinary people, factories, bakeries, port objects and even ordinary tire, conventional shopping mulles, machine-building plants, water supply stations, power plants-absolutely everything.
Drop the bomb on the maternity hospital, the theater or the warehouse with food - Russian invaders are indifferent. All this is the same target for them. Baking cities and making millions of people forced by displaced persons are just tools for them. Because the purpose of Russia is to destroy Ukraine as democracy, as a social state, as an economic force, a society of educated people who can work for their own interests. Like all people. But that is why I believe in our victory.
When someone is fighting with the whole people, he has no chance. For us, this is the people's war. And the peoples are insurmountable! And when the people have such friends as Ukrainians, victory becomes inevitable. I am sincerely grateful to you, the people of France, I am grateful to President Emmanuel Macron personally for their support in this struggle for freedom. I saw Emmanuel looking for a diplomatic path, looking for steps to stop the war.
I have devoted several years to the President's position to find a solution, a peaceful, diplomatic, co -existence model without war. But, unfortunately, Russia's leadership does not want to live without war. Russia's leadership sees an existential challenge for itself in the free and democratic life of Ukraine. Therefore, they want to fight, they want to destroy. They think that they can protect their dictatorship for many years. And so it is important to achieve victory.
It is important to do everything to make the victory as soon as possible. It is important to do everything that Russia can never blackmail Ukraine or France. You don't feel it as much as we are. And God forbid that the war does not come to your land, but it is all. All this is their plan. Neither any European state nor Europe can generally be blackmailed either by war, energy, nor the food crisis. It is important to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
Peace for Ukraine, security guarantees, restoration of everything that the Russian invaders destroyed, will be a clear proof that the European idea is stronger than any dictatorship, and the values of freedom, equality, mutual assistance are overcome by any terror. And that's why I turn to you today. Ukraine can give you thousands of contracts, thousands of jobs. We need your experience and your participation in reconstruction after fighting.
We have started now - in the free territory of our country. We invite construction companies to participate in the reconstruction of infrastructure, localization of production of building materials. We invite companies that can help modernize communal infrastructure - water supply, water purification, sorting and processing. We invite the power companies to join the production and storage of gas, to "green" energy, the production of hydrogen, the development of our nuclear energy.
We invite automotive companies to localize electric cars and accessories. We invite food companies to agro-processing and food production for the 40 million market of Ukraine and the entire market of Europe, with which we are fully integrated. And we will come to the territory of our country occupied by Russia to return this territory to Europe.
Apparently, some of you already know that at the level of our governments - Ukraine and France - we are preparing to hold such an initiative in Paris in the fall - the Forum for the Restoration of Ukraine. I invite your companies to participate in this initiative. I know that there are companies that have already responded and are involved in the reconstruction of our country. In particular, she is grateful to Mathere for her support in the restoration of our bridge infrastructure.
I would also like to thank the Il-de-France region for starting partnership with Chernihiv and Kyiv regions, Grand-Est region for partnership with Kharkiv region. And also all the small and major cities of France, who came to the aid of Ukraine during this important, cruel time. I recall that last year, before the start of a full -scale war, we saw in Kiev with a MEDEF delegation. They discussed good ideas, ambitious projects.