Participation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Helsinki Security Forum

Speaker 1

Now I warmly welcome the first speaker at this forum, the true security guarantor, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is joining us via video link. It is an honor for us that you decided to join this opening session via video link. And, Mr. President, you promised us a few questions so that we could start our discussion.

Speaker 3

Yes, I am open to any question, but first of all, if possible, I would like to thank you for the invitation. I am very pleased, and I want to thank Finland, your people. I want to thank the president, Alex, we have wonderful relations. And I want to thank the government officials, the prime minister, for all these nearly five years of full-scale war. We are with you, you are with Ukraine, you have supported us with various aid, from military aid to energy aid, during the massive shelling of our energy sector, facilities very important for our vital activities. And therefore I want to thank you for all this. I am proud that the Ukrainian people have such friends as the people of Finland. And thank you for this. I also know that Sandu is present. We always support Moldova. Also glad to see you.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Mr. President. First question, if I may. The theme of this year's forestry security forum is layers of security. This draws attention to the fact that it is necessary to act in such a way as to expand our security. What would be your advice to the international audience gathered here today? In what way should we and how can we act right now?

Speaker 3

Thank you for the question. I have today's experience of Ukraine, the experience, unfortunately, of war, but nonetheless military experience. I would say that there is, according to our example, a clear understanding of what the priorities are and how important they are. In my view, a state, if it truly wants to be protected, must think and be strong first and foremost internally. The main security guarantees today for Ukraine are the army of our state. The issue here is precisely not about numbers; countries are different. The main things are experience, morale, unity, experienced commanders, modern commanders, and already a new generation of young people in our army, young commanders who grew up in this war. And it is not just that someone gave them something or that 20-30 years passed and they became very famous generals; they are young; from sergeants, soldiers, and junior officers, they became colonels, they became generals; they were battalion commanders, they were brigade commanders, they became corps commanders, meaning during this full-scale war, meaning an experienced army. An army that is very technological; that is the second thing, your modern technologies within your state, this is miltech, industry, military industry, the defense-industrial complex, which says that if you want to move very quickly, then it should not be state-run, or only private, it should be a mix, meaning both state enterprises and the private sector, which for the most part today is our private sector, which moves very quickly and develops very quickly. Further, when we talk about internal resilience and being modern in the face of all challenges, this is energy security; the corresponding industry must be decentralized, and Finland, by the way, has such experience, and we are grateful that Finland is the leader of the shelter coalition, and this is indeed very serious experience, this is something that works in peacetime, but it is very important what people can rely on in case of danger; we have quite a shortage of shelters, in some communities it is better, in some not very much, but this is a serious challenge, meaning security conditions, this is very important. And then the unconditional production line; we are talking today about anti-aircraft defense; if we have a deficit and there are massive attacks, meaning it is impossible to protect yourself totally simply by buying or having a certain number of anti-aircraft defense systems,

Speaker 1

no,

Speaker 3

There must be technologies and production lines. Undoubtedly, this must be shared, and Ukraine has shared its experience of this war, and its security experience with other countries; this brings us to the second cluster. Being a strong country internally and having your own security guarantees is also not enough, because you do not know what the threat may be; the threat may be global, or something like Russia, which is many times larger than Ukraine, meaning that international relations are very important. And I am very grateful first and foremost to the European Union, I am very grateful to all of Europe, and grateful to the United States of America, because from the beginning of the war they began to help Ukraine. That is, this international resilience, international support is very important, and this is financial support first of all. And technological; from the beginning of the war we received weapons that we did not have, because it was NATO-standard weaponry. And today we are signing drone deals. We are signing agreements where we gladly share the experience we have today, and this is exclusive. We share absolutely fairly with the countries that help us. And [those who] have helped throughout this war; by the way, Alex and I, with President Stubb, signed exactly such an agreement in New York, a drone deal. This is not about the sale or purchase of drones or missiles, it is about sharing experience, security experience. Throughout the duration of this agreement, we will gladly do this with Finland, because there is trust. And I am very glad that we succeeded in building such relations between our countries. And undoubtedly, thirdly – it is the EU and NATO, and here I could only congratulate Finland. And you have received, in my view, some of the main security guarantees – the EU and NATO. These are allies, economic allies, technological allies, and security allies. This is very important; this is what Ukraine is counting on. Undoubtedly, I think that this is a win-win for all of us, because Ukraine has such an army, such experience. And I think that in the face of any threats, we strengthen both the EU and NATO, and through bilateral partnerships, we strengthen each other. Today we are facing strikes on data centers, hybrid warfare, strikes on our mobile communications and logistics, on the railway, the sea is being blocked. All these are challenges; I wish such experience on no one, but it is present in Ukraine, unfortunately, again because of the war, but it is there. And such experience, I am sure, can only strengthen partners.

Speaker 2

Thank you, thank you, sir

Speaker 1

…president, for these wise words and advice, which you acquire at such a great cost. Ukraine is not only waging a war, but Ukraine is also building a future for itself. It wants to join the European Union as quickly as possible. Joining the EU is a process that is demanding and takes time. Ukraine is implementing reforms while it is waging a large-scale war. This is a task that is required. Therefore, if you allow, Mr. President,

Speaker 1

What are the biggest obstacles in the process of Ukraine acquiring EU membership?

Speaker 3

In my view, the main obstacle.

Speaker 1

This is a fair point.

Speaker 3

He really doesn't want this. And he doesn't want to, it's just like his opinion. The question here is not about the opinion. The question is what he is doing. Against what? Against the development of the state, against the choice and his political choice. And this really, you know, is a great threat. He is a great threat. Sometimes one really wishes not to have borders with Russia. It is very dangerous. And for Putin, it is a big problem. Ukraine is independent, strong. The fact that Ukraine is strong is a problem for Putin, we see that now. Because his goals are unchanging. And, you know, yesterday, it seems to me, yesterday he had a forum. Yesterday, if you heard, in Moscow, I think there were very important answers to the whole world. And above all, to the USA. And to some skeptics in Europe and the world. Yesterday there was a very important signal. I think Putin decided to say it just like that. He said that Ukraine is not a state and is not an independent state. Therefore, what can be spoken of if other countries are fighting with Ukrainians against Russia. He sometimes gives such messages, but yesterday he was very confident in this message. No one stops him from this message, unfortunately. And in this lies the weakness of the world. Why weakness? Because back in 2005, if I am not mistaken, the leader of the Kremlin said that the greatest tragedy of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union, if you remember. Therefore, it seems to me, as early as 2005, he gave an answer regarding his main geopolitical goals. That is, notice, he did not speak of the First World War as the tragedy of the 20th century. He did not recognize the Second World War. I am not talking about other wars that there were. He could have mentioned Afghanistan too. That is, that Chernobyl is a terrible tragedy, absolutely. That is, nothing that was related to people. Right? But he mentioned the collapse of the Soviet Union as the main collapse of the 20th century. And therefore, obviously, his goal to bring back the Soviet Union became clear. And therefore his goal is not Eastern Ukraine. His goal is not Donbas. His goal is the occupation of our entire state. And the fact that he spoke yesterday about the fact that such a state does not exist is another typical proof of what he wants, his attitude, whether he wants peace, whether he wants the war to end, and if he even does, at what price. Undoubtedly, the return of the influence of the Soviet Union. Or the influence of Russia, but with the same influence as there was in the Soviet Union. That is, the return of Ukraine, the occupation of Kazakhstan, his influence in Belarus is total, but I think he wants all of this back. And therefore there are such risks both with the Baltic countries and influence on countries with which the Russian Federation shares borders. And that is where the danger lies. I think that skepticism should pass for everyone. And everyone should understand what is happening. And therefore, when we talk about what the EU means for Ukraine as a victory over Russia. Even a victory over Putin and what he aspires to. The EU is the choice of our people, and that is why it is so important to have security guarantees, because this guarantees our path, the path chosen by the people of Ukraine.

Speaker 2

Thank you,

Speaker 1

Thank you, Mr. President. Final question. This is a conference of experts on international security. In your view. If you permit, if you could summarize in one sentence what the role of the expert community should be in the times we are currently living in?

Speaker 3

With all due respect, the role of experts is not to be in the middle between evil and good, between the occupier and the victim. No one needs mediation between life and death, between those who want to live freely under democracy and autocracy. Such mediation does not work today. Mediation with occupiers, mediation with dictators does not work, because we always want to find a compromise. And a dictator is always in a stronger position than the victim. Therefore, so that the victim—which today is any state that is free, democratic, and, speaking among ourselves, European—therefore, so that it is on equal footing, so that it is strong, it must be supported. And this is important. In my view, the international community must protect any state that is free from any aggression that is unjust.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Mr. President. Greetings from the Helsinki Security Forum. I want to take this opportunity to convey our sincere gratitude and our best wishes to you and the heroic Ukrainian people. Thank you very much, Mr.

Speaker 3

President.