The world overcame nazism, the apartheid, pandemics, the indifference to climate changes, financial crises, and the Kremlin strain. The world will ov… - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The war continues. Russia is sending new forces to our land to continue to destroy us, to destroy Ukrainians. We must do more to stop the war! The first and most important thing is weapons. Freedom must be armed no worse than tyranny.

The situation in Mariupol remains as severe as possible. Just inhuman. This is what the Russian Federation did. Deliberately did. And deliberately continues to destroy cities. Russia is deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there in Mariupol. There are only two ways to influence this. Or the partners will give Ukraine all the necessary heavy weapons, planes, and, without exaggeration, immediately. So that we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and unblock it. Or — a negotiating path, in which the role of partners should also be decisive. I want to be heard right now: there has not been a single day since the blockade of Mariupol that we have not sought a solution. Military or diplomatic — anything to save people. But finding this solution is extremely difficult. So far, there is no one hundred percent valid option. This applies to both military options and the negotiation process. Although we have heard many intentions from those who wanted to help and who really in positions of international influence, none of them have been realized yet. However, we will not abandon these efforts. And every day either I, or Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhny, or other military, or head of our negotiating team David Arakhamia — in touch with our defenders of Mariupol. Every day.

Speech by Zelensky during the celebration of Independence Day of Ukraine (24 August 2019)