The Russian War against Ukraine and all Free Europe began with Crimea and should end - President Vladimir Zelensky's address
Russia has brought large -scale repression, environmental problems, economic hopelessness and war. War. Historians may ever determine how many people have been killed because of Russia's use of Crimea for terror. Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? From Ukraine and Georgia to Syria and more remote regions. The presence of Russian invaders in Crimea is a threat to all of Europe and to global stability. The Black Sea region cannot be safe while the Crimea is occupied.
There will be no stable and prolonged peace and in many countries on the Mediterranean coast, while Russia is able to use our peninsula as its military base. This Russian war against Ukraine and all the free Europe began from the Crimea and should end in Crimea - its liberation. Today it is impossible to say when it happens. But we constantly add the necessary components to the formula of liberation of Crimea.
We started the Crimean platform - a key diplomatic platform for working on the liberation of Crimea. The Crimean platform will work this year. We are already preparing this summit. Crimean themes sound at all international sites, which discusses the Russian war against our country. The history of global response to the capture of Crimea, more precisely, is the lack of such response, now serves as one of the best arguments to strengthen sanctions against Russia.
The world begins to acknowledge that in the 14th year he was mistaken when he decided not to answer full force on Russia's first aggressive steps. And, of course, we pay due attention to the struggle for rights and historical justice for the indigenous peoples of Ukraine - the Crimean Tatar people, Karaites and Crimean. Today, on the International Day of the Native Peoples of the World, we really have something to say.
Last summer, the fundamental law on the indigenous peoples of Ukraine was adopted. This law recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples and representative bodies of indigenous peoples. Ukraine is a multinational state. Different national communities have lived and live on our land for centuries. But most of them have their experience of state formation outside Ukraine. Our state is a native for peoples whose national cultures and aspirations were formed in Crimea.
Therefore, when we work for the liberation of the peninsula, we fight for the restoration of the territorial integrity of our country and for the return of the house by indigenous peoples of Ukraine. I believe that it will be. I know that we will return to Ukrainian Crimea. And I am grateful to all our partners and international organizations that help us with this.
It is too early to disclose all the details, but this year the work of the Crimean platform will be no less significant and representative than last year when its first summit took place in Kiev. The format will be different, but the value is even greater. We are preparing new solutions for protection and assistance in the realization of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ukraine. We also prepare programs of economic restoration of our Crimea after its release from the invaders.
Well, most importantly - we support our Armed Forces of Ukraine, our intelligence and all who are fighting for the liberation of our land and the reflection of the Russian colonial invasion. From Kharkiv to Kherson, from Donetsk to Energodar, from the village of Lugansk to Yalta, from Berdyansk and to Novofedorivka - all this part of our country, all this is Ukraine, which will be completely free. Today he signed a new decree on the awarding of our defenders.