Thank you to everyone who defends our independence. We are deeply grateful to our defenders, to all the strong people of our country. Thank you!

Dear attendees, dear Olena,

Distinguished guests, dear First Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Dear guests,

Mr. President of Lithuania,

Mr. President of Estonia,

Mr. President of Finland,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you that on this special day – truly a very special day, such an important day, perhaps the most important day, the day of the restoration of our independence – on such a special day, the 35th anniversary of the restoration of Ukraine’s independence, we are together and you are with us. Thank you. Thank you for your productive work, important dialogue, and exchange of experience. And this was a conversation not about survival, but, indeed, about something deeper – about how to preserve life, dignity, inner strength, how to preserve external unity – even under pressure, but to preserve them. Everything we call “resilience,” to which this year’s Summit is dedicated.

Every country and every nation has its own experience of upheaval and its own examples of endurance. I thank our guests for sharing the stories about all this. At the same time, right now, it is the resilience of Ukraine, the resilience of Ukrainians – our people – that carries the unique experience and the most relevant context. This resilience has endurance – serious endurance. Twelve years of Russia’s latest attempts to break Ukrainians. 1,643 days of full-scale war. This resilience has a face. A warrior holding the position. A child doing homework by the flashlight on a phone. A doctor performing surgery by the light of a generator. A mother waiting for news from her son or daughter at the front. An electrician repairing the power grid at minus 20 degrees. It is all of Ukraine – our entire state – fighting off constant Russian strikes and constantly recovering from them. It is all of Ukraine – when we get up in the morning despite everything, and despite everything we keep moving – moving forward. We defend ourselves, advance, work, create, fall in love, care for one another. We believe. All of this is about us believing in Ukraine. We live and fight for our peace.

Ukrainian resilience is not about what the phrase “putting up with things” implies. That is definitely not who we are, because putting up with things is passive. Our resilience is about acting. Even when circumstances are against you. And our resilient state is made up of resilient people like these. A state that is strong when it keeps working despite the strikes. Keeps providing services, paying salaries, paying pensions, educating, treating, building, defending – living. Our resilience is the daily practice of continuing life in circumstances where many on the outside find it hard to believe that such a kind of life is even possible. Where the first day is very difficult, the thousandth is even harder, and the 1,643rd day is also extremely difficult – when we have to stand firm, we have to press the enemy to the end, we have to achieve peace, and when you understand that that first day of peace will be decisive, probably decisive, for the entire course of our history. Whatever that day is like, that will define everything else for Ukraine – what came before and what comes after. We are all working together, we, all of us, are truly doing our best, taking care to ensure that that day of peace is ours, that it is dignified for Ukraine, happy for our people, and strong for our state. This can be achieved only by preserving this “togetherness” of ours. “Togetherness” is the true meaning of the word “resilience.” No matter how resilient and strong each individual may be, there is a risk of losing when standing alone. Our experience of resilience in Ukraine is the experience of bringing together the capabilities of each and every person into one great force – the strength of Ukraine. One example is fundraising drives that raise millions for the needs of the army and reach their goals quickly when everyone contributes, even if only a small amount. Another example is chats. Chats for an apartment building, a street, a village, a city, or a community. Especially in winter, when people come together and overcome hardship together. They offer to charge generators, bring things to those who need them most, prepare hot meals, deliver medicine, gasoline, clothing – in a word, help. This entire experience is certainly worth scaling up to interstate relations – to the level of Europe, our Europe, and our world. And making it truly effective. Building a shared architecture of resilience – that is, continuing what we have managed to do at levels among ourselves, among people, what we have managed to do in families, what we have really managed to do in our communities, in institutions, and in the state. What works through joint action, what truly works at the level of people, brings people together, and through that unity enables them to overcome any difficulty, no matter what they may be – this is what should be carried into relations between states.

Every country is weaker on its own. The threats are global: wars, cyberattacks, energy blackmail, disinformation, food and climate crises. That is why we need an architecture of resilience that is just as systemic as our architecture of collective security. Standards, exchange of experience, backup systems for critical infrastructure, rapid response, and, importantly, building everything necessary to protect life, preserve its normalcy, and safeguard prospects for people and countries – so that we stay one step ahead of the challenges instead of trying to catch up.

Dear attendees, ladies and gentlemen,

Russia definitely wants to break Ukraine, we know that. Because Russia wants to break Europe. But the Kremlin cannot do this all at once – against everyone at once – so they will try to destabilize our continent one country at a time. Step by step. At least that’s what they want. One doubt at a time. One act of indecision. One “this is not our war.” One crisis. One refusal to help and support.

Russia’s strategy is built on a single calculation – that Europe will grow tired before the Russian economy collapses.

That is why they invest in ever more divisions. And that is why we must invest in ever greater unity. That is exactly what we are doing.

Resilience is a team effort. There cannot be a resilient country next to a country that has fallen. We say “architecture of resilience,” and it sounds technical. But in reality, this is not simply about technology – it is about our inner state, the inner state we share. It is when the lights go out in one country and a neighbor shares its own. When a child whose home and sense of safety have been taken away by war finds a home and respect in another country – in a neighboring country. When lies and military aggression launched from the Russian capital are hit hard thanks to the decisions of Europe and the entire world, thanks to cooperation with us, assistance to Ukrainians, and real protection from Russian terror and Russian evil.

The key lesson of these times for all countries is this: resilience must be built together. By learning from one another’s experience, combining one another’s resources and potential, and protecting one another’s lives. This can be achieved. And the simple answer is in the title of this panel: standing together. 

Thank you for the fact that all of you definitely support this principle. And let us bring as many others as possible into this shared effort with us, with Ukraine, with Ukrainians – so that there is resilience, so that there is strength, and so that this war can come to an end.

Your strength, dear ladies and gentlemen, lies in your ability to speak with people without political barriers, where official diplomacy may sometimes stall. You work with the things that keep societies truly united – education, people’s health, children and policies for a normal childhood, families, culture, and… countries. And this truly provides a great foundation for people to understand one another and recognize their own in one another.

All our previous Summits of First Ladies and Gentlemen, as well as this one, prove that humanitarian diplomacy is not an addition to high-level politics, but one of its pillars. And may this pillar remain strong and always resilient. So that we remain resilient. So that Ukraine remains strong – through our unity with you. Thank you all. Thank you, Olena! Thank you to everyone who helps us.

Glory to Ukraine!

…Glory to the Heroes!