We must win this battle, as it determines the global attitude toward freedom – speech by the President of Ukraine at a special plenary session of the Riigikogu

11 January 2024 – 15:43

Mr. Speaker!

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Parliament! 

Mr. President! 

Madam Prime Minister! 

Members of the Government!

Thank you for the cordial reception and for your unwavering attention to Ukraine.

Dear ladies and gentlemen!

Dear Estonian people!

I am pleased to have the opportunity to thank you personally today for being on the side of freedom. And not just on the side of Ukraine’s freedom.

t is very symbolic, from the perspective of both Estonian and Ukrainian history, how the day of February 24 is now filled with meanings. It is on this day that Estonia celebrates and will always celebrate the restoration of its state independence. And it was on February 24 that the current rulers of Russia attempted to restore their old empire, whether Soviet or Russian, or some hybrid empire. Attempted – by attacking Ukraine. We did not falter on February 24. All of us. Our people. Our friends. The entire free world.

Ukraine decided then that we would fight. Kaitsetahe. The free nations of the world backed us up. Some did it immediately, like Estonia, and I am grateful to you for that, others joined in later, and we appreciate that too. Now, the majority of the world is one way or another on the side of Ukraine, international law, and against Russian genocidal aggression.

February 24 could have changed the history of our Ukrainian nation, our region, and our entire Europe into a new enslavement. But history took a turn toward far greater freedom than we all had, toward far greater independence than we could have expected at the time, toward far greater European strength than anyone could have predicted. It happened due to courage. Due to solidarity. Due to the choice in favor of freedom – our common choice.

And I thank you, Estonia, I thank every single one of you personally for making that choice. The choice in favor of freedom.

We must win the battle that is now underway. We must win it not only because it is a battle for our lives – the lives of the Ukrainian people, our cities, our communities, which Russia is turning into ruins. We must win this battle not only because it decides the fate of our state and all the countries and nations that have to border Russia. This battle determines the global attitude toward freedom now, after us, and after our children and grandchildren.

Freedom must be able to prevail in confrontations unleashed by tyranny. That is why this war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine matters not only for us and not only for our continent, but for all nations that value their freedom or dream of becoming free. Tyranny must lose. Tyranny must be the loser. Always. Always. This is what we must leave as our main political legacy – we, all the states that value independence, all the nations that do not want their children to be the property of dictators, all the leaders who want to be on the bright side of history. And that is why everyone is important in this battle. Not only those with extensive military experience or large arsenals. Not only those who are among the world’s top leaders in terms of various indicators of their power. Every nation is important. Every brave soul, every sincere heart, every bright mind is important. Everyone who can mobilize their humanity. Not because it yields immediate benefits, but because it’s the right thing to do. It is right when freedom and humanity prevail. They must prevail!

Ladies and gentlemen! 

Dear Estonia!

I thank you all for standing with us. Thank you for each package of support for our warriors and all Ukrainian people. Thank you for the weapons you have provided. Thank you for your initiatives that really influence the overall European course. Thank you for your determination in putting pressure on Russia – and in making the aggressor really feel that it is he who will suffer the most from the aggression – this criminal, this murderer, this terrorist, and not those whose lives Putin has decided to destroy. We must continue to put pressure on him. Everyone in Europe. Everyone in the free world. Every sanctions circumvention scheme that Russia uses must be blocked. Every asset that Moscow or those associated with it have tried to conceal in global jurisdictions must be frozen and used to defend against Russian aggression and help rebuild after this war.

Every defense enterprise that is currently in place or that can be established in Europe to help Europe defend its freedom must operate at full capacity. This is a common, vital interest of every European nation. Europe needs its own defense capabilities for its security. Guaranteed security. Ukraine has already reached dozens of agreements with various countries and companies on joint defense production – I invite you to join this cooperation. Estonia has already made significant progress in the development of digital technologies and advanced systems of governance and corporate work – we must share this experience with others in Europe and the world. And we must always keep in mind and always uphold the fundamental European truth – Europe will only endure if it is a continent of unity. Unity, not strife. Unity, not national egoism. Unity, not clashing ambitions. Over these two years, we have all demonstrated the highest level of unity. And I am grateful to you for the way you defend this unity. The way you defend common interests. And the way you help our European and Euro-Atlantic integration in particular. And the way you help our people, Ukrainians – this is also a manifestation of unity, a manifestation of true Europeanness –  our people who sought refuge from the war and found it in Estonia. I am grateful to you for this warmth, for your solidarity with us and, of course, for choosing independence on February 24. Thank you.

When I was on my way to your parliament today, Madam Prime Minister presented me with this sweatshirt. She said that the meaning of this word – kaitsetahe – united you all, many Estonians. And what is written here is what is engraved in the hearts of many Ukrainians – the will to defend. Kaitsetahe. And I’m sure that the day will come when we will all be united by another meaning – võidutahe – the will to win.

And we will congratulate each other on the victory. On winning this war against Russia. Together. Always together.

Glory to Ukraine!

The Estonians get it!

Estonia's President Alar Karis: there should be no limits on using Western weapons for attacks on Russian military targets to slow down and weaken enemy forces and defend Ukrainian people. Thank you for addressing this 🇪🇪 ! pic.twitter.com/reXen5mkaC

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) January 11, 2024

The cost:

ВЛАДА ДИВІТЬСЯ НА ЦЕ!

Біль🥺

Нещодавно у моєму рідному місті Конотоп цей хлопчик просив дрон для свого батька, а не барднюри які влада масова встановлювала разом з бруківкою.

Влада не почула і хлопчик зустрів батька «НА ЩИТІ». Сьогодні його батька поховали….. pic.twitter.com/RQgsxKkoTu

— Пан Беседа🇺🇦 (@vlad_beseda) January 10, 2024

Machine translation of the tweet above:

Pain🥺

Recently, in my hometown of Konotop, this boy asked for a drone for his father, not the barnacles that the authorities were installing en masse along with the pavement.

The authorities did not listen and the boy met his father “ON THE SHIELD”. Today his father was buried…..

You may be asking how those sanctions on Russia are working.

The Financial Times has the details:

Russia obtained at least one-third of its foreign-sourced critical battlefield components from companies based in the US and its allies last year — in large part because of outsourced production facilities in states that apply weaker export controls.

These goods — worth a total of $7.3bn — were mainly manufactured in countries that are not part of the US-led export-control coalition, according to an analysis by the Kyiv School of Economics. The largest share of these goods — worth around $1.9bn — were produced in China.

The 485 types of component in the analysis include semiconductors, computer parts, electronics, automotive components and bearings. The list relies on analysis of components found by Ukrainian officials in Russian equipment on the battlefield.

The analysis accounts for $22bn of Russian imports over the first nine months of 2023 and highlights how outsourced production can make it easier for Russia to buy controlled goods from countries whose customs officers will not apply checks at the border.

The data also shows the critical role of China in Russia’s supply networks, including goods made by non-coalition companies. A majority of the goods on the list were made in the country, which has been joining an ever-deepening partnership with Moscow.

Olena Bilousova, a senior researcher at KSE, said: “It’s been a normal business strategy for years for western technology companies to have manufacturing facilities across Asia. But these factories need to be made to comply with the same strength of export controls as they would at home.”

The US is the only country to insist that goods made in a third country may potentially be covered by domestic controls. The “foreign-direct product regulations” (FDPR) are extraterritorial and can cover goods made in third countries if content, software or technology originating in the US has been involved in their production.

FDPR provisions apply even if the producer is not American. The US dominance of semiconductor technology means the FDPR has particular impact on this sector.

However, Emily Kilcrease, a sanctions expert at the Centre for a New American Security, said that applying the FDPR is difficult. It “is necessarily one of the tougher mechanisms to use just because the activity is, by definition, not happening at home. China is one of our more difficult enforcement environments”.

Data reviewed by the Financial Times shows the goods were sold to Russia via distributors and intermediaries. Kevin Wolf, a partner at Akin law firm in Washington and a former assistant commerce secretary, said that if the US companies had no knowledge of the eventual export to Russia and did not cause it, they would not contravene American law.

But the US adding “distributors and other middlemen” to its sanctions list would be “a very effective way of addressing diversion of semiconductors and other items”, he said. “This would prohibit shipments to the listed entities by any company — even if the whole transaction happens outside the US.”

Much more at the link!

Remember, just 8 more shopping days till the first part of the government shutdown!

Every day that passes without a new deal to provide critical assistance to Ukraine means its air defense stocks dwindle further, more Russia missiles and drones strike their targets, the civilian body count climbs, and Putin is further emboldened. https://t.co/SpaiqnK3Wj

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 11, 2024

Bucha:

Bucha has just learned a scientific fact: sometimes thunder and lightning can happen in the winter amid snow blizzards ❄️❄️❄️
A real white flash in the sky ⚡️

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) January 11, 2024

Kupyansk & Bakhmut:

I've found a few articles, including one from Bild, suggesting that the Russian Winter Offensive has already failed. However, based on my observations, Russian forces continue to increase troop concentrations in both the Kupyansk and Bakhmut areas. They will fail, but not yet

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) January 11, 2024

The quality of Russian recruits continues to drop, and they even fill their "elite" units with 45+ y.o unfit guys, so that on paper they meet quota. However, there are a lot of them, and they have an artillery advantage, as well as a drone advantage in some areas of the frontline

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) January 11, 2024

Kharkiv:

Russian assault group in Kharkiv direction was being transported on tanks, and got hit by cluster munitions. After dismounting, chaos ensued as the group dispersed, some got wounded, and no one could understand where they were.

Successful stop of a Russian attack before it… pic.twitter.com/uHTPy8ueVq

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) January 11, 2024

Russia:

In Russia, entire city districts throughout the country, even in Moscow and the capital region, suffer from prolonged and severe power & heating breakdowns.

And that's in the dead of the Russian winter. Hundreds of thousands are affected. All due to a severe lack of proper…

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) January 11, 2024

In Russia, entire city districts throughout the country, even in Moscow and the capital region, suffer from prolonged and severe power & heating breakdowns.

And that’s in the dead of the Russian winter. Hundreds of thousands are affected. All due to a severe lack of proper maintenance and financing (and systemic corruption, of course).

We in Ukraine did not have things like that at such a scale, even last winter, when Russia was spending hundreds of missiles and drones to wipe out our heating and power infrastructure and freeze Ukraine to death.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is to spend at least $112 billion (30% of the 2024 annual budget) on its war to exterminate Ukraine, Putin is obsessed with his idiotic crusade against homosexuality, and tens of thousands of ordinary Russians go to slaughter for ruins of a Ukrainian city they would never find on a map.

Their greatest arch-enemy is somehow Ukrainians who only want to be left alone and to survive as a nation.

Just think about this.

Russia is so sick to the bone, good lord.

Winter 2022-23 – Russia bombs Ukraine into oblivion to plunge it into cold and dark, Europe is to freeze to death without Russian gas.

Winter 2023-24 – Russia itself ends up suffering from widespread power and heating failures amid severe freeze without any military attacks on…

— Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) January 11, 2024

Winter 2022-23 – Russia bombs Ukraine into oblivion to plunge it into cold and dark, Europe is to freeze to death without Russian gas.

Winter 2023-24 – Russia itself ends up suffering from widespread power and heating failures amid severe freeze without any military attacks on its critical infrastructure.

Gods indeed have the sense of dark humor.

There seems to be some positive movement on the frozen Russian assets front:

This is a big deal. $300 billion in Russian assets has been frozen since the war began. If Biden is able to negotiate the use of even a fraction of that towards Ukrainian reconstruction, it would alleviate a significant amount of pressure from @HouseGOP’s stalling on funding. https://t.co/L3SdOx0SFI

— Andrew—#IAmTheResistance—Wortman (@AmoneyResists) January 11, 2024

Latvia confiscates Russian "Moscow House" in Riga and will use it along with other seized assets to back Ukraine. Checkmate, Russia pic.twitter.com/SQ5vfOw1YF

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) January 11, 2024

That’s enough for tonight.

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