Dear ladies and gentlemen,

I thank the organizers of the Oslo Freedom Forum and Mr. Kasparov for inviting me to address you today. Today marks exactly three months since Russia planned to destroy us in three days. All according to plan, as Russian officials often say, and we keep pushing Russian invaders out of our land. 

A lot has been said about Ukraine's remarkable fight against Russian aggression. All of you follow the news. The Ukrainian miracle of being able to withstand such a brutal force has a number of ingredients. Capable and highly motivated military, leadership and courage of President Zelensky, advanced weapons and stiff sanctions by our partners are some of them. But today I would like to focus on one secret ingredient of our resolve which is key to all others. This is the incredible power of Ukrainian society with its highly developed horizontal ties, advanced social cohesion, solidarity, ability to quickly self-organize, and its ability to unite in the face of fear. 

President Zelensky once famously said that freedom is the absence of fear. Ukraine is one of the nations which knows this all too well. Our freedom has not been granted to us. We have won it in a lengthy, bloody, and difficult fight. We have defended our rights in three revolutions over the past three decades, and two wars, of which the current one is the most brutal, bloody, and devastating. It is therefore no surprise to us in Ukraine that the incredibly strong civil society has been one of the key factors of Ukrainian resolve in the past three months. 

Ukrainians are a brave nation. Ukrainians are the people who played a crucial role in dissolving the Soviet Union in 1991. Ukrainians rejected attempts to steal their vote and their right to choose in 2004. Ukrainians refused to yield in 2013 when our country was forcibly dragged into Russia’s sphere of influence. In 2014 Ukrainians refused to allow Russia to destroy us militarily, and now we have no other option than to defend our right to exist and ultimately prevail. 

Anyone trying to explain these processes through the lens of geopolitics will always get things wrong. By the way, this is the mistake that Putin has made. And the mistake that even some Western governments made by underestimating Ukraine. 

These decades of a nation on the move and in the fight for its freedom are a result of what is inside Ukrainian men and women. Activists and lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, medics and firefighters, teachers, soldiers, women activists, diplomats and politicians, workers and labor activists, farmers, civilian volunteers, and every Ukrainian person who simply wants to live a decent life. Have their dignity respected. Enjoy freedoms and opportunities of a free society. Being able to change a government and protest decisions they don’t like. Are they asking that much? 

So in today's speech I want to highlight the ordinary miracles made by extraordinary people. They are the ones who bear the main burden of war today and the ones who have created the Ukrainian miracle. 

It’s obvious that the Ukrainian model of society is competitive to that of Russia. We rely on a decentralized, highly motivated and self-organized model with a strong social cohesion and solidarity. I want to assure you that Putin will never be able to defeat a nation like this. Past three months have proven my point. Ukrainians are united as never before in fighting a real people’s war. Where everyone contributes, from donations to volunteering, from saving civilians to evacuating animals from the war zone. No state in the history of humankind has ever won a war against the people. 

Many of the consequences of Russia’s actions not only affect the lives of Ukrainians but also put millions of people around the world at risk of hunger, and undermine their livelihoods through its impact on energy and financial security. Moscow’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression is a war against us all and can be effectively defeated only through solidarity of the international community.

We are confident that with international support Ukraine will prevail. But no victory will be complete without accountability for massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law carried out in the course of this aggression. International human rights mechanisms should be an important part of this process by establishing facts and preparing evidence for further trials. Among many instruments, we very much count on the effectiveness of the Commission on Inquiry established by the UN Human Rights Council. We expect it to become an important asset to ensure there is no impunity for perpetrators.

Russian aggression is also accompanied by a massive flow of lies that aim to mislead the international community. Such disinformation, which accompanies serious violations of international law, is a threat to human rights and requires strong countermeasures. Last April the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the role of states in countering disinformation’s impact on human rights. It was put forward by Ukraine and became an important milestone in addressing the problem of disinformation from a rights-based perspective. We count on further effective cooperation with all stakeholders engaged in countering this challenge. 

To conclude with, I think that Ukrainians understand very well the fight many of you are fighting around the world to defend your rights. We know how difficult this fight may get, but we also know that the price of losing it is even higher. Freedom is not free. May our fight encourage people around the globe to stand up for what they care for and what they are entitled by birth. Freedom, dignity, human rights, and equal opportunities. I also encourage you to learn from Ukrainian experience and establish more people-to-people contacts with Ukrainians. The fight for freedom is a constant struggle that requires global effort. 

I thank you for your attention.