Olena Zelenska: Russia’s war against Ukraine is testing the moral principles of all humankind

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska addressed the audience of the annual Bucharest Forum. The event is a platform for discussions to address topical issues and complex problems of the increasingly dynamic and unstable regional and global context. The Forum brought together business representatives, government officials, and representatives from the strategic community.
Olena Zelenska called on the Forum participants to continue supporting Ukraine in bringing its victory over Russia closer and protecting the lives of Ukrainians.
The Aspen Institute Romania organized the event with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The Aspen Institute Kyiv joined the Forum as an institutional partner.
Ukrainians are determined to endure this winter to remain free.
In her address to the participants of the Bucharest Forum, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska emphasized that despite the large-scale shelling and constant threat to life, the will of Ukrainians and their belief in victory are unbreakable. The ideology of the Russian Federation, which brings suffering and death not only to the occupied territories but also to its lands, is more terrible than shelling:
– Why does the Russian Federation terrorize civilians? In my opinion, this terrorist country has been plunged into darkness for so long that it is trying to spread it to others. Our power engineers are now the same heroes as the military. Every day, they go to work knowing that they are Russian targets. Ukrainians are determined to get through this winter to remain free.
It is essential to provide Ukraine with air and missile defense: Russia hits residential buildings, in addition to energy.
The aggressor country is using its usual tactics of terrorist attacks against civilians, which contradicts the Geneva Convention. Russian missiles have already destroyed more than 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing power and water outages in winter. At the same time, the temperature at this time sometimes reaches -15 degrees. In addition, Russian strikes are aimed at destroying civilian homes:
– Russia is not only hitting the energy sector. This country celebrated the day when the European Parliament recognized it as a sponsor of terrorism by destroying residential buildings in Kherson and Vyshhorod. So, military assistance is also important to us. Air defense and missile defense are critical.
Russia’s war against Ukraine concerns the whole world and threatens the moral principles of humanity.
Olena Zelenska emphasized that the outcome of the war will affect not only the geopolitical map of the world or the economy but will also determine the further moral development of humanity:
– “The war in Ukraine concerns the whole world. First of all, because of the threat to the moral principles of humanity. Now, all of them are being tested for strength. Everyone is being tested – from the state to the citizen – whether to help the victim or turn away. Whether to leave the aggression unpunished or not.