NordenBladet —
Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Kornienko, who is currently on a visit to Estonia, addressed the Riigikogu today, thanking Estonia for its help and support to Ukraine. He declared that together we would overcome all difficulties and ensure the restoration of peace – in Ukraine, in Europe, and in the world.
“I thank the Riigikogu for keeping the focus on the most pressing threat to international peace and security of the century, it is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” said Kornienko and pointed out that as we were speaking, Russia was continuing to bomb Ukrainian cities, killing peaceful Ukrainians with the only aim – to destroy Ukraine and eliminate Ukrainians as a nation.
Ukraine is grateful to all its partners who have stood with them all the way. “We are deeply grateful to Estonia for its vast political, military, humanitarian, and financial support. Estonia was the first to have recognized Russian crimes in Ukraine as genocide at the parliamentary level, one of the first countries to have defined a Russian regime as a terrorist regime and the first country to have started practical recovery of the Zhytomyr region. Estonia remains a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s EU and NATO membership. This will always be remembered by us Ukrainians,” he swore.
He sees that the time is right to embrace the goal of Ukrainian victory and work toward it collectively rather than looking for premature peace deals with Russia. “Moscow has not changed its ultimatums and is not ready for serious negotiations right now. Their statements are just smokescreen for their continued aggression,” Kornienko warned, adding that what would bring real peace is the Ukrainian victory. “This goal is fully achievable, and we have proved it with successful Kharkiv and Kherson counter offensives this autumn.”
Kornienko sees Ukraine’s victory also as the victory of Europe and the West. “It will restore peace and security in our continent for decades to come. Furthermore, it will ensure a long period of international stability because it will prove that aggression is not an effective tool to achieve goals in the 21st century,” said Kornienko and elaborated that to achieve victory, Ukraine needs continuous support of its international partners, including defence assistance, further isolation of Russia, financial support, and urgent assistance in recovering the energy system damaged by Russian strikes.
Kornienko stated that in difficult times there was no other way to overcome global challenges, except for unity. “And together we will overcome all difficulties and ensure the restoration of peace – in Ukraine, in Europe and in the world. We are enduring enormous pain in Ukraine and we want peace as no one else. But we also know that wars like this must end with the victory of good over evil. Let’s work together towards this end,” he proposed. “Russia still has missiles and an advantage in artillery but we have something that the occupier does not have and will not have. We are defending our home, and that gives us the strongest motivation possible. We are fighting for the freedom of Ukraine and the entire Europe. This unites the whole world around Ukraine.
The verbatim record (in Estonian):
The video recording of the Communications can be viewed on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Source: Parliament of Estonia