Time will come when children in Ukraine will be protected from Russian evil - Zelensky

The time will come when children on Earth, including in Ukraine, will be protected from such evil as the Russian one.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stated this in his traditional evening address to the nation.

"Dear Ukrainians,

The rescue operation in the city of Pidhorodne in Dnipropetrovsk region, where a Russian missile destroyed houses, has already wrapped up.

Twenty-five people were injured, five of them children. Davyd, 6 years old, is in grave condition, the boy has been hospitalized. Denys, 11 years of age, is also in serious condition, hospitalized. Oleksandr, 15 years old, is also in serious condition. Lisa, 17 years old, is receiving outpatient treatment. Kira, 10 years old, sustained a landmine-explosive injury. She is being treated on an outpatient basis. It hurts to see such reports.

Lisa, a 2-year-old girl, was killed by this Russian missile. Likely an Iskander. My condolences to family and friends...

Russian terror took the lives of hundreds of our children, and since February 24 alone, during the full-scale war, we know with certainty about the deaths of 485 children. This is a number that we can officially confirm, knowing the details for each child.

Unfortunately, the real number is higher. Every time we liberate our land from Russian occupiers, we learn the terrible truth about the occupation – how many people, how many children are buried in the occupied territory, in the graves of this war, this aggression. And how many still remain under the rubble in the Ukrainian cities and villages burned by Russia.

So far, unfortunately, we have no complete information about the hundreds of thousands of children who have been deported to Russia. As of today, thanks to various efforts, it was possible to return 371 children from deportation to Ukraine. Despite the fact that we know for sure about at least 19,505 Ukrainian deported children, this is only a part of all our little Ukrainian men and women who are still in the enemy’s hands. We are yet to return them all.

Today our country marks the day of remembrance of children who died as a result of Russian aggression. Since 2014. Children who would be alive if a bunch of thugs in the Kremlin, in Moscow, did not feel like leaders who supposedly have the right to decide the fate of nations.

Each of these thugs will be convicted. I have no doubt about that. All relevant legal institutions are working toward this result.

And today, on this day of remembrance, I’d like to thank everyone across the world who supports our efforts for justice. For the sake of holding accountable everyone who brought terror to our land, everyone who kills and deports children and adults.

I’m grateful to everyone in the world who helps the efforts of the International Criminal Court, its team in the investigation of Russian crimes on Ukrainian soil; and who helps us establish a special tribunal for Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine – the original crime that gave birth to all other horrific crimes of this war.

Let the verdicts against the Ruscists, which they will one day hear on the dock - legal and fair verdicts - be a testimony that the world will still protect life, protect civilization. And that the time will come when children on Earth – in Ukraine and elsewhere - will be protected from such evil as Russian one and from such acts of aggression.

That is why it is so important that the power of justice, power of accountability, be a powerful reminder of every life that was taken by evil, by Russia.

And today, part of this responsibility – an obligatory part – is sanctions. International sanctions that force Russia to pay the cost for what they are doing. Sanctions that should limit Russia's ability to pursue terror to the maximum.

Today I held a special meeting on sanctions. GUR (defense intelligence – ed.), Foreign Intelligence Service, Government, and Office. We analyzed in great detail how Russia circumvents sanctions and who helps them do it. It’s different countries and different companies, without which Russia would not be able to produce the tools of terror, including missiles. Unfortunately, the terrorist state manages to employ international technologies through a network of suppliers, they manage to bypass international sanctions regimes.

We see every avenue of circumvention of existing sanctions, every country whose territory, jurisdiction, or citizens are being used by Russia to perpetuate terror. And we must shut down all such loopholes – together with our partners – so that there are no products of the free world in Russian missiles, in Russian weapons. Necessary steps will be taken.

I thank everyone who helps us fight the evil of aggression!

Glory to all our soldiers! And thank you for being on the front lines today.

Glory to Ukraine!

Photo: President’s Office