The EAJC website presents its readers with an exclusive video and informal transcription of the address:

 

 

 

Dear ladies and gentlemen!

I would like to send my warm greetings to AJC's Global forum, one of the most important and prestigious gatherings of the world and Jewish community leaders. We in Ukraine appreciate the American Jewish Committees's longstanding support for a strong and independent Ukraine. Since 1991, AJC has sought to promote a closer association with the EU and its institutions, as well as vibrant US-Ukrainian relations. We value AJC's early support of our efforts to establish an independent Ukraine, and we will continue to appreciate AJC's ongoing involvement.

There are three reasons that give me the opportunity to appeal to your highly respected assembly with maximum openness and without the usual preliminary remarks. Firstly, it's AJC's essence in defending peace and democracy in the world as well as widely known ability of its leaders to distinguish the good from evil. Secondly, this is the history of the Jewish people, which makes them extremely sensitive to injustice and violence. Thirdly, my country is subjected to threats, the greatest one in its history, not only in the recent one. But these are not only threats to Ukraine. This is a challenge to the whole world, first of all to the free world and the world's democracies. Paralells with events that occured 75 years ago and which had led to the most terrible of wars in the world history are evident; so obvious that I believe it expedient to quote here the words of Sir Winston Churchill, addressed to the American people in October 1939: “But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for will sink into the abyss of the new Dark Age, made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.”

We see that Russian aggression is not only followed by terror and death but by the humiliation of dignity and grave violation of the human rights and liberties. In the occupied territories, Stalin's repressive practices are restored as well as Stalin's policy of people's discrimination. This aggression is accompanied by intimidation of the Jewish population, persecution of the long-suffering Crimean Tatars, violent attacks on Roma people, beating and even killing of Ukrainian citizens. There is nothing like this, and there can be nothing like this, in independent Ukraine.

Bearing in mind the aforementioned facts, I declare: if we want to stop anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia, we ought to stop the aggression. The aggressor cannot be appeased. Any concessions shall not satisfy him. Putin's regime can be maintained only by an expansion of aggression and poisoning of people's minds by huge misinformation. The democratic world has a narrow range of choice: either react or see how the huge GULAG is absorbing their countries and breaking down their values.

It's time to act. We strongly believe that we will withstand. Withstand - Ukrainians and Jews, Westerners and Easterners, young and aged. We will withstand because we have something more sufficient than missiles. We're strengthened by truth and fortitude. And by support of the free world that appreciates our sincere commitment to justice and freedom.
I wish you good luck.
God bless you.