[as translated from the Ukrainian language by the Ukrainian Government]

Thank you very much for your words of support. We really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Dear participants,

Dear Japanese people,

Everyone in the world who values peace,

I came here from a country of which the war could have left only a shadow on the stones of history. But our heroic people are turning history around so that we can make the war itself become such a shadow.

I believe that war has no place in the world. Humanity has come a very long way and lost many lives in bloody confrontations. Death fell from the sky, death came from the sea. Radiation brought death. People brought death to each other. Some say that the history of mankind cannot be imagined without war. We say that it is exactly war that the history of mankind should be without.

Ukraine is at the epicenter of a war of destruction. Invaders have come to our land and they want not only to conquer us, Ukrainians. Russia is lying to the world that there are no Ukrainians at all.

If we were not so brave, the Russian genocide against us could have succeeded. The shadow would have been left of Ukraine. Of the whole nation! Just a shadow.

But Ukrainians are infinitely brave. They are infinitely freedom-loving. And we will live! And we will live freely.

Even though the enemy uses non-nuclear weapons, the ruins of our cities, which were burned to the ground by Russian bombs and artillery, are similar to what I have just seen here - it is an honor to be in this Museum of Peace. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. What your people have seen in their history: instead of the normal life of thousands and thousands of families, only ashes remain. Instead of cities, there is a scorched wasteland. Instead of houses - only rubble.

Hiroshima is a rebuilt city now. And we dream of rebuilding all of our cities that are now in ruins, and every village where not a single house is left intact after Russian strikes.

We dream of returning our territories. Just as we have returned our northern territories, which were occupied by Russia, we must return the eastern and southern territories of Ukraine. We dream of returning our people who are now in Russian captivity. These are prisoners of war, civilians, deported adults and abducted children. We dream of winning! We dream of peace after our victory.

But for this to happen, not only this aggressor, but also the ambition of the war itself has to lose. And this is what is important for everyone in the world. I am here in Hiroshima so that the world can hear the Ukrainian call for unification from here.

Russia has trampled on everything civilized. It has been occupying our largest nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe - for over a year now. Russia is the only terrorist state in the world whose tanks fired at a nuclear power plant. No one else has ever used a nuclear power plant as a depot for weapons and shells. Russia is hiding behind a nuclear power plant to fire rocket artillery at our cities. If anyone in the world is still able to ignore Russia's other war crimes, this crime against humanity should definitely prompt action by everyone.

We are saying this, Ukraine, which had to survive the Chornobyl radiation disaster in 1986. Until now, part of our land is a closed zone - an exclusion zone. Imagine, it was through this zone that Russian troops conducted their offensive. They were digging trenches right in the forests where the radiation-contaminated materials were buried back in Soviet times.

If the level of evil and stupidity in Russia's actions is left without consequences, the world will inevitably become a wreck. It's only a matter of time before other criminals in public office want to start similar wars.

If Russia is allowed to retain even a sliver of the territory it occupies, international law will never work again.

Ukraine has proposed a Peace Formula. Honest and realistic. Its first point is radiation and nuclear safety. Russia must abandon radiation and nuclear blackmail of the world and hand over the nuclear power plant it is currently occupying to the full control of Ukraine and the IAEA.

In total, our Peace Formula has 10 points, and the meaning of each of them is confirmed by UN resolutions. It contains everything that will work to end Russia's war against our country.

But the strength of the Ukrainian Peace Formula is that by stopping Russia's aggressive ambitions and restoring the security that Russia has violated, we will give the world one additional result: we will paralyze other potential aggressors. When everyone who wants war sees how united and determined the world is when it wants peace, there will be no point in even starting a war.

Until now, the world has not had a Formula that could stop aggressors. Ukraine offers it. Ukraine offers the world salvation from war. To do this, we need to unite and make Russia the last aggressor. So that only peace reigns after the defeat of its invasion of Ukraine.

We, people, have different cultures, different views, different national flags. But we equally want security for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. And our lives are equally burned to ashes if, God forbid, war comes.

Everyone in the world must do everything possible to ensure that wars leave only shadows on the stones of history and that this can only be seen in museums.

Everyone in the world must respect other nations.

Everyone in the world must recognize state borders.

Everyone in the world must defend justice.

Everyone in the world must care about life.

Everyone in the world must take peace as their duty.

Thank you, Hiroshima, for every blue and yellow flag on the streets these days. When there is a Ukrainian flag, it is evidence that there is faith in freedom, faith in life, faith in our people. Thank you.

Thank you, Japan, Mr. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, all the people of Japan, for your comprehensive support.

Eternal memory to all victims of wars.

Let there be peace!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Original Text Source: president.gov.ua/en

Flag of Ukraine Source: goodfreephotos.com/ukraine/other--ukraine/flag--of--ukraine.jpg.php

Page Created: 5/22/23

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