Europe and America Can Push the War to an End, Fair and Reliable Peace – Speech by the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Meeting of the European Council
19 December 2024 – 15:36
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Thank you very much!
Mr. President Costa!
Ursula, Madam President!
Dear leaders!
Thank you for inviting Ukraine to take part in the European Council’s work, especially now after the renewal of EU institutions.
And I’m also grateful to you, Mr. President, as you said already, but I’m grateful to you and to European Commissioners Kaja Kallas and Marta Kos for visiting Ukraine on the very first day of the new EU leadership’s term. And it was both symbolic and truly supportive.
Now is a good time to reflect on the year and what we’ve achieved together. Europe’s military support for Ukraine has strengthened our ability to defend against Russia, saving countless lives. Sanctions against Russia are growing, and this year saw important progress in targeting its shadow tanker fleet – we must stop Putin from using it to fund the war, and we must remove these old ships from European and international waters to prevent oil spills. We also need to pressure other parts of Russia’s economy and energy exports, including imposing sanctions on Rosatom – another tool of Russian aggression.
We’re united by growing economic cooperation, especially in developing our defense industries. We need to keep increasing weapons production and expanding Europe’s industrial capacity. And I’m grateful to all partners already investing in Ukraine’s defense manufacturing, including drones and artillery, and to those maintaining strong defense budgets. This will remain crucial next year – supplying weapons, boosting production, and strengthening sanctions on Russia to push them toward diplomacy. Europe must stay strong.
Our priority is air defense – fulfilling agreements with partners, including the United States, to provide Ukraine with the systems we need. We require 19 more systems to protect energy infrastructure, especially nuclear plants, from Russian missiles. These systems already stored at partner bases can save lives. I urge you to keep supporting us and help engage the White House to strengthen their commitment to improving Ukraine’s air defense. Thank you to everyone helping restore Ukraine’s energy and resilience. This, along with air defense, is the best response to Russia’s massive missile attacks.
I’m grateful to everyone working to protect geopolitical clarity and economic security for our continent. This is only possible through the inclusion of all European nations in EU and NATO, of course, structures. No democratic nation should be left out of a united Europe and the Alliance – this includes Ukraine, Moldova, and the Balkan countries. Unfortunately, Russian-controlled mafia in Georgia is working to pull the country under Putin’s influence and off the European path. The current government in Tbilisi refuses to engage with the EU. I urge you to put pressure, especially on Ivanishvili and his buddies, to ensure they gain no benefits from stealing Georgia’s European future and wasting decades of progress. We cannot afford to lose a single country in our Europe – if one falls, it brings us all closer to division and conflict. And it’s crucial to support the European choice of Moldova, and it’s not only about elections but about the prosperity of the people of Moldova – they have to feel the strength of Europe in the fight against poverty.
We in Ukraine are grateful for the opening of EU membership talks and hope to make as much progress as possible next year, under Poland and Denmark’s presidency. Our goal is to open all clusters within the next year.
And we’ve made strong progress in ensuring Ukraine’s financial stability. Thanks to your support, we feel more security for the next year. I’m grateful to everyone and every country with which we’ve established long-term support agreements – this is a great help. And we also need to be clear about frozen Russian assets – they must be used more actively to counter aggression.
And on diplomacy, of course, America and Europe must be at the table when the time comes. Like Ukraine, EU should enter talks from a strong position, and Europe’s strength is unity.
We need coordinated efforts for lasting peace – not just a pause in fighting, which Putin wants to buy time. We must push Moscow towards real, lasting and guaranteed peace.
And we all understand that in January, President Trump will intensify efforts to end the war. It’s up to us whether Europe supports him with a strong, united voice.
It is essential for us to work, and work together to ensure that China, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and other partners from the Global South not only respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity but also use their influence on Russia when needed. We ask Europe to pay greater attention to the role of these countries, as they can push Russia to respect the principle of territorial integrity, aligning with their own interests and bringing peace closer.
It’s also crucial for Europe to make a significant contribution to security guarantees. We support France’s initiative for a military contingent in Ukraine as part of these guarantees and call-on other partners to join this effort, it will help bring the war to an end.
Europe and America can push the war to an end, fair and reliable peace. For the United States to apply full pressure, Europe needs a clear position. What will make Russia recognize the need for peace?
First: geopolitical clarity for Ukraine and Europe – inviting Ukraine to join NATO.
Second: clear progress on Ukraine’s EU membership.
Third: boosting our defense with promised weapons and air defense systems, and urgent equipping brigades.
Fourth: more investments in weapons production in Ukraine and Europe to boost capacity.
Fifth: maintaining and increasing sanctions on Russia until full, lasting peace is achieved.
Sixth: using frozen Russian assets more actively to support peace efforts.
Seventh: social resilience – helping Ukraine rebuild schools, hospitals, energy infrastructure to ensure normal life. This proves Russia’s war is failing.
Thank you so much, Mr. President, for the invitation! Thank you everybody for your support!
Glory to Ukraine!
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