President Petro Poroshenko in his 20 November address on the occasion of the Day of Dignity and Freedom said he is confident that Russia is trying to destabilize the situation in Ukraine in order to achieve early parliamentary elections, strengthen the pro-Russian forces in the new parliament and ultimately cancel the European course of Ukraine.
"The enemy not only attacks Ukraine from the outside, but also undermines us from within. The aim of the Kremlin is constant internal destabilization, anarchy, [arbitrary rule of warlords] otamanshchyna. Early elections in Ukraine and strengthening the position of pro-Russian forces in the new parliament. And then -revision of the European course And then - complete change of the foreign state vector And finally –the return of Ukraine to the imperial stables," the president said.
Poroshenko assured that he, as president, will not allow such a scenario. "I have repeatedly demonstrated by historic examples how authoritarian Muscovy used the benefits of democracy in the neighboring states for it own interests - up to the absorption of these countries I am confident that it will fail this time," the president said.
Poroshenko expressed confidence that Ukraine will soon receive and visa-free travel and association with the European Union on a permanent basis.
"This week, the EU Council has unanimously adopted a decision that recognized full implementation of all commitments by Ukraine. It declared clear political will of the EU and all its member-states to provide visa-free regime for us soon after coordination of some purely internal procedures of the European Union. My negotiations with leaders of the EU states and institutions also provide grounds to predict that a mutually acceptable compromise between Ukraine, the EU and the Netherlands will be found and the Association and FTA Agreement will be ratified," said he.
Poroshenko brought apologizes to the citizens of Ukraine for the problems in the economy.
"To avoid default and disaster in the economy, the government had no other choice but to resort to strict and unpopular measures. The same standard measures were taken by successful neighbours from Central and Eastern Europe already at the beginning of the 1990s. The IMF support remains vital for us. And the Fund never prescribes sweet drugs. So I understand that we have unwittingly hurt millions of families. It is not a sin to apologize for that. But I am sure that soon the effectiveness of measures taken will be experienced by more and more people, "said Poroshenko.
On 21 November Ukraine marks the Day of Dignity and Freedom. The celebration will honour the events on the Maidan in 2004 and 2013, when the Ukrainian citizens defended their European aspirations and democracy. The date was fixed by decree of the President of Ukraine on 13 November 2014.