President of Ukraine’s speech at OSCE Helsinki Final Act 50th Anniversary Conference

“One of Putin’s main ideas, and now it’s mainstream in Russia, is that Russia has no real borders, that its borders are wherever it wants them to be,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an address to the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the OSCE Helsinki Final Act on July 31.

Last night, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine, this time on Kyiv. Hundreds of “shahed” drones and, also, missiles. Our air defense shot down many, many of them, but not all, unfortunately.

Once again, a Russian missile hit a residential building. A whole section of the building was turned into rubble and dust – just like the lives of the people who lived there. Across Kyiv, dozens of people were injured in today’s attack. There are fatalities, and sadly, the number of dead is still rising.

Two days ago, Russia launched another cynical strike, this time on a prison in the Zaporizhzhia region. They used air-dropped bombs. They knew exactly it was a civilian facility. They knew the bombs would hit it. Sixteen people were killed. Forty-three were injured.

Russia keeps launching such attacks even when the whole world is calling on it to stop the war. A war that Russia started, a war that Russia keeps dragging on, a war that only the Russian leadership wants – a leadership stuck in another era. They are mentally stuck in another century – a time of brutal violence, deportations, and total disregard for human rights and equality. We all know – such ideas and such times must never return to Europe. And we all know how to protect ourselves from that, how to protect Europe from what today’s Russia is bringing.

And I believe Russia can be pushed to stop this war. It started it – and it can be made to end it.

Full text of the address: Office of the President of Ukraine