President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Ukrainian people in his annual address to the Verkhovna Rada. The speech was broadcast by the Presidential Office.
The president described the priority reforms that are being prepared and outlined the positions of principle for the state. In particular, the impossibility of Ukraine giving up part of its territories.
He also mentioned that there is no alternative to joining NATO and that Ukraine expects to open negotiations with the EU on the first cluster in early 2025. Ukraine should be the fastest to join the EU, Zelenskyy said.
Regarding NATO, he said that nothing fundamental separates Ukraine from the Alliance, but only a lack of political will among its partners.
Zelenskyy also stressed that Ukraine will not trade its territory.
"We will not give up Ukraine's rights to its entire territory," the president said in his speech.
He added that Ukraine would not abandon a rational approach to guaranteeing its rights.
"Ukraine may have to outlive someone in Moscow to achieve all its goals. Perhaps to restore the full integrity of our state," Zelenskyy said.
He urged everyone who values freedom of speech to consolidate information.
Regarding the elections, Zelenskyy said that none of the partners demanded and are not demanding that they be held in Ukraine until the end of the war. However, there are people in Ukraine who want political disputes, and this is detrimental.
"Ukraine first needs a just peace, and then Ukrainians will hold fair elections," the president said.
He also stressed that Russia's responsibility should be collective, so it is not necessary to put the blame for the war on Vladimir Putin alone. Anyone in Russia who claims not to be associated with Putin should have an unequivocal position on the war, the annexation of Crimea, and Putin's arrest, not just slogans like "no to war". The president made this remark against the backdrop of a rally in Germany by the so-called Russian opposition led by Alexey Navalnyy's widow, Yuliya.
The President also added that Ukraine needs a tribunal against Russia, confiscation of its assets and effective sanctions against Russia, absolute guarantee of Ukraine's spiritual independence and transformation of institutions.
"In every war, in order not to lose it, there are things that can be done by the people themselves and things that can be done only in unity with the allies. That is why we need these two documents: what we expect from ourselves and what we expect from our partners," the president said.
Regarding the defence sector, Zelenskyy said that the possibility of extending the work of Army+ not only to the Armed Forces but also to other components of the Defence Forces, including the National Guard, is being considered. This will also apply to electronic transfer.
He added that the Ministry of Defence and the military command should elect a military ombudsman. This is expected in the near future.
The president devoted a large part of his speech to Ukrainian arms production. The state plans to produce 30,000 long-range drones and 3,000 missiles next year. The state is also developing Long Neptunes.
- Zelenskyy presented an internal resilience plan to the Rada. It consists of ten points, the first of which is unity. The plan will be developed in detail together with representatives of civil society, business, and media.