Defense, economy, Russian war crimes: Zelenskyy presents annual message to parliament

Zelenskyy stated this in his annual address to the parliament.

“We must cooperate as much as possible with our international partners and the international criminal court. That is, all elements of international and national justice will be carried out to bring the Russian murderers and executioners to justice. All those who planned, started and carried out aggression against the people of Ukraine. No crime committed by the occupiers in Ukraine should go unpunished. No matter how much resources and time it takes, responsibility for the occupiers must be inevitable. And it will be just like that for everything that was done in Ukraine, that was done against Ukrainians from 2014 and from February 24,” Zelenskyy stressed.

The president also said that the Ukrainian military-industrial complex will be one of the most progressive. Today, our defenders are a guarantee that the time of empires will not return, so Ukrainians must adhere to unity and justice.

“Unity is what allows us to stand now and to strengthen both society and state. To win together and change the negative trends of centuries-old history. The stronger the unity, the greater and the faster our victory will be. If someone tries to play against the independence of Ukraine - political, economic or spiritual independence - our state will respond instantly and harshly!” the President of Ukraine added. 

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine will develop relations with African countries and other states of the Global South for the sake of food security.

“This direction of foreign policy received a special priority. This year showed that without a Ukrainian farmer, without Ukrainian agricultural exports, it is impossible to guarantee not only food, but also social security for dozens and dozens of countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. Our two initiatives - the Grain Export Initiative and the Grain from Ukraine program - have returned vital stability to the world,” the Ukrainian president emphasized.

In addition, Ukraine must transform the energy sector and become a leader in the construction of green energy.

“Now, when the enemy has set himself the goal of destroying us, destroying our energy, we set ourselves the goal of becoming a leader in the transformation of our energy to counter any threats, any challenges - military, political, economic or even climatic.

We have to become - and we will, because there is no way out - we will become a leader in the construction of modern green energy. This will allow us to create a decentralized energy system that cannot be destroyed by anything. A modern city needs decentralized sources of energy. Only green energy can really provide this. Having a leadership position in such energy and developing our atomic generation, as well as hydrogen energy, we will be able to provide for the needs of Ukraine and, in peacetime, Europe. And this is a task, a task for tomorrow,” Zelenskyy added.