Olena Zelenska in her special address for the Halifax Security Forum.
If Ukraine ceases to resist the Russian aggressor, the war will not stop; it will only escalate globally. This is emphasized in an essay written for the Halifax Security Forum by First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska.
Established in 2009, the flagship forum on international security in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, is known as the world's largest security conference for democratic nations. The annual forum attracts the attention of many high-ranking officials, decision-makers, including senior military officers, government officials, members of the U.S. Senate, and global leaders in the field, as well as leading journalists, strategists, and human rights advocates from around the world.
In the text dedicated to Ukraine and its struggle against Russian invasion, the President's wife emphasized that Russia's war against our state is a war in the global world, an attack on all international agreements and human rights.
"So, the question, 'What do you think about the people in the world getting tired of reading news about the war in Ukraine?' that I often hear in international interviews, leaves me perplexed. If Ukrainian soldiers, despite fierce resistance against the enemy and the loss of their comrades, haven't got tired of liberating Ukrainian land, and if Ukrainians, despite their grief and tears, haven't got tired of defending their children and their future, how can people somewhere in a safe country get tired of reading the news? And if Ukraine "gets tired," the war won't stop. It will simply continue," Olena Zelenska said.
The First Lady compared the Russian attack with global pollution or a plague – if not stopped in time, it can similarly extend and engulf other countries.
"Another question I'm frequently asked is, 'What does Ukraine still want from the world, from other countries?' Despite our deep gratitude to those who help us, it seems to me that it's time to shift the focus of this question. Not 'What does Ukraine want?' but 'What does the world and every one of its inhabitants want?' Do they want the aggressor to go unpunished and continue his actions? Do they want the new world order like this? Because the empire won't stop. It must be stopped. And that's what Ukraine is doing right now. So, what do we want? We want everyone to know about it," the First Lady concluded.
