Life will win! Ukraine will win! – Greetings from the President of Ukraine for Easter!

Great people of great Ukraine, today is a great holiday. And I am in a great place, the great Saint Sophia Cathedral. In a cathedral founded a thousand years ago, on the field of a sacred battle where the army of Kyivan Rus, of Ukraine, defeated the Pechenegs. In a cathedral that was destroyed neither by the onslaught of the Order nor by the Nazi occupation, which stood firm despite everything. Today we all believe in a new victory for Ukraine. And we are all sure that no horde and no evil will destroy us. We are overcoming dark times. And on this bright day, I and most of us are not in bright clothes, but we are fighting for a bright idea.

We are on the bright side, and on our side is the truth, the people, the Lord, and all His higher heavenly power. The power of the protectress of the human race, the Mother of God Oranta. She is above me, she is above us all. An unwavering pillar of the church of Christ, an immovable wall of the main stronghold of Kyiv, the immutability of the state.

As long as there is the Oranta, there is Sophia, and with them stands Kyiv, and with them all of Ukraine. Above the image of the Oranta are written words from the book of psalms: God is in the midst of the city, and it shall not be moved. God shall help it before the dawn. On this great day, we all believe that our dawn will soon arrive. Oranta in Latin means "the one who prays." For the last two months, we have all been praying. And on the Resurrection of Christ, which symbolizes the great victory of life over death, each of us asks the Lord for one thing.

And we speak the same words to the sky, the words of a great and single prayer. Great and only God, preserve our Ukraine. Protect those who protect us. Protect the heavens of those who defend their native land. Strengthen the will of those who protect us from captivity. Save those who save Ukraine. These are our military, National Guardsmen, border guards, our territorial defense, intelligence, and all our other warriors of light.

Help those who help them. These are the volunteers and all the concerned people from Ukraine and the entire world. Give strength to all who give all their strength. May everyone who seeks always find. May everyone who is on the road always overcome it. And may everyone who does everything possible for the salvation of Ukraine never lose faith that everything is possible. Save the lives of those who save the lives of others. These are all our medics, our firefighters, rescuers, sappers. May the victory of life be the symbol not only of this holiday.

May life win the battle against death every day. Protect our mothers. Give endurance to those who wait for a son or daughter from the war. Give resilience to those who, unfortunately, did not wait for their child from the front. Help overcome the unbearable pain of those who lost their own child in peaceful cities and villages where Russia brought death.

And to all our mothers and all our grandmothers, give strong health. For many and many years to come, to wait for their own, to wait for peace and victory, to wait for justice and a happy old age, which the invaders are trying to steal from them. And instead of knitting scarves and sweaters for their grandchildren, today they weave camouflage nets.

So, give long years of peaceful life, as well as to our fathers and our grandfathers, who once told their grandchildren about the war, and today send their grandchildren to war. Our fathers and our grandfathers built this country. Today they see how it is being destroyed. Let them see how our land will be liberated and rebuilt. And give us the strength to do this. Protect all our little children. Give every boy and every girl a happy youth, youth, maturity, and old age, which will allow them to get rid of the filth of their terrible childhood in times of war, if only a little.

Not the terrible children's games they were forced to play—hide-and-seek, but in a basement from bombs; running, but from gunfire; wanderings, but through the loss of a home, escaping from war. Save all Ukrainians. We attacked no one, so give us protection. We never destroyed other nations, so do not let anyone destroy us. We did not seize foreign lands, so do not let ours be seized. Save Ukraine, its right and left banks, in times when we are basely struck on both the right and left cheek. At the end of winter, not spring at all came to us.

Cold and frost were brought into our home, and at dawn, impenetrable darkness was brought to us. We believe, God, that during Your judgment You will not forget them all. All those who forgot all Your commandments. You will not forget Bucha, Irpin, Borodianka, Hostomel, all those who experienced bestial crimes. Give them and all our land human happiness.

You will not forget Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Sumy, Kharkiv, Izium, Kramatorsk, Volnovakha, Popasna. All other cities and villages that hear ghastly explosions. Let them and all of us hear the salute of victory. You will not forget Mariupol and its heroic defenders. Walls can be destroyed, but it is impossible to destroy the foundation on which the spirit of our warriors, the spirit of the entire country, rests. We see terrible scenes of war. Let us see a happy picture of peace.

We are going through extremely difficult trials. Let us reach a just end on this path, to the beginning of a happy life and the prosperity of Ukraine. Our hearts are filled with fierce anger. Our souls are filled with fierce hatred for the invaders and everything they have done. Do not let the fury destroy us from within.

Turn it into our achievements on the outside. Turn it into a good force to defeat the forces of evil. Protect us from discord and divisions. Do not let us lose unity. Strengthen our will and our spirit. Do not let us lose ourselves. Do not let us lose the thirst for freedom. And therefore, do not let us lose the passion for a righteous struggle. Do not let us lose hope for victory and the sense of our own dignity. And therefore, not lose our own freedom. Not lose Ukraine. And therefore, not lose faith. Dear Ukrainians, last year we met the Great Day at home because of the pandemic.

This year we again mark the Resurrection of Christ not as we are used to, because of another virus. One called war. And last year's and this year's threats are united by one thing—nothing will be able to overcome Ukraine. Great holiness today gives us great hope and unwavering faith that light will defeat darkness. Good will defeat evil. Life will defeat death. And therefore, Ukraine will certainly win. And on the Great Day, we ask God for great grace, so that our great dream comes true. This is another Great Day. The day when a great peace will come to Ukraine, and with it eternal harmony and prosperity.

With faith and confidence in this, I congratulate you all on the holiday of Easter and

Easter. Take care of yourselves, take care of your loved ones, take care of Ukraine. Christ is risen, truly He is risen!