Glad to be here today, at the pilgrimage in Stradch, among the clergy and laity of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — the church that in the most difficult times of our history not only prays for Ukraine but stands with its people.
The heart rejoices seeing so many of our people who have come from all corners of Ukraine. Warm greetings, smiles, and festive attire — here you can see embroidered shirts from all regions, from Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna to Galicia and Podillia. Today we pray together for Ukraine, for our warriors, for those who are no longer with us.
When we seek an answer on how to overcome the enemy, we often talk about weapons, international support, sanctions, economics. All of this is extremely important. But I am convinced: the ultimate victory of good over evil always begins with unity.
It is unity that made us stronger than fear. It is unity that helped us endure the hardest months of the war. It is unity today that is shown in the support of our warriors, in helping the wounded, the families of the fallen, the displaced, the children, people who have lost their homes. And this unity did not arise by itself. It was forged over years by people who never lost faith in Ukraine.
I want to express deep gratitude to all the bishops, priests, and laity of the UGCC for your service to Ukraine. And especially to the Head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav. In the darkest days of the war, your voice never quieted when it came to the truth, the suffering of the Ukrainian people, the condemnation of evil, the defense of human dignity.
Today, Russia seeks to destroy us not only with missiles — it seeks to destroy us spiritually.
We know well: the empire always came not only with an army — it came with an attempt to subdue human conscience.
That is why the ideology of the “Russian world” has become a distortion of Christianity, as it tries to justify aggression, violence, and murder. For us, it is important that the voice of the Christian world resounds clearly and uncompromisingly.
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Petro Poroshenko’s Speech at the Culture Forum:
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Moral, Modern, and Mystery — these are the three words that should guide the person developing our country’s economic development strategy. The economy should be moral, modern, and surprising to the world.
We have modern technologies, we have artificial intelligence, we have very cool people, and this is our main value. That’s why I look to the future with optimism.
I was invited to Lviv by the organizers of the International Economic Forum. Today, entrepreneurs, economists, financiers, and our youth have gathered here to talk about the future of the Ukrainian state. I shared my vision of why we need to believe in Ukraine and invest time, knowledge, and money here. This is the strategy I have chosen for myself and recommend to everyone.
Putin’s mistake is that he believes the strength of the modern economy lies in capturing territories, natural resources, and industrial bases. This has nothing to do with the future. The U.S. primarily invested not in Ukrainian natural resources, but in an artificial intelligence company. The second company they invested in Ukraine manufactures drones for defense and is the first to use “drone swarm” technology. Because the future is in technology.
Our Unmanned Systems Forces, our Main Intelligence Directorate, our fighters demonstrate this by using long-range drones, midstrikes, deepstrikes, “Maguras,” and sea drones to strike refineries and enemy control centers. These are not just destroyed objects; this is destroyed Russian infrastructure.
Our technologies allow the military to speak to the enemy in the language of strength. Only this can force Putin to end the war. In this situation, there should be no talk of security guarantees. We need comprehensive, unconditional, and immediate ceasefire.
Only under such conditions do investments resume, democracy returns, and money starts flowing. Because it is profitable to invest in Ukraine: we learn quickly, and we have very smart and talented people. And we need to convince everyone of this and demonstrate our unique path to the world.
Therefore, Ukraine needs competent and professional decisions now, not publicity. A fair tax system that suits IT professionals from around the world, the defense industry, and the development of artificial intelligence.
Moral, Modern, and Mystery are the principles of our economic development. And the main condition is our integration into the European Union. We must earn membership, we must make it into the list of four countries that should join by 2029.
When I speak about my optimism, I mean faith in Ukraine. Faith in our victory. Faith that investing here is necessary. Faith in Ukrainians, because we are the best.
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| Lviv, a summer evening, Shukhevych’s bonfire in the open air. Nearby is the place where the General-Cornet fought his last battle.
Around are young Ukrainians, boys and girls from the Armed Forces, and our shared, since the UPA times, “Ribbon by Ribbon”. |
