Bidens speech5/27/2023 ![]() But the battle for our independence was underway well before the first shots were fired. The President, the Prime Minister, the members of this august body - all of you must put aside parochial differences and make real the Revolution of Dignity. I need not tell you this is a joint responsibility. You have a historic opportunity to be remembered as the Rada that finally and permanently laid in place the pillars of freedom that your people have longed for, yearned for, for so many years. Their sacrifice - to put it bluntly - is now your obligation. Their blood and courage delivering to the Ukrainian people a second chance for freedom. Amidst fire and ice, snipers on rooftops, the Heavenly Hundred paid the ultimate price of patriots the world over. As the world watched - and I was literally on the phone with your former President urging restraint - as the world watched, the final assault came. Tens of thousands heeded the call bringing with them food, clothing, blankets, medical supplies, and their support. Mary raised the alarm, calling the citizens of Ukraine to reinforce their brothers and sisters on the Maidan. For the first time since the Middle Ages, the bells of St. They stayed at the Maidan day and night, facing down the Berkut in riot gear. This time they were not going to be denied the future that so many of your country have longed for, for so long.Īnd the world was horrified when peaceful patriots were met by violence. Nearly a decade later, that flame of hope was reignited by thousands of brave Ukrainians, some of you in this room, storming the Maidan, demanding a Revolution of Dignity. And the bright flame of hope for a new Ukraine snuffed out by the pervasive poison of cronyism, corruption, and kleptocracy. Reformers persecuted, thrown in prison as political retribution. ![]() We saw oligarchs uninterested in change ousted from power only to return. ![]() We saw reforms put in place only to be rolled back. They refused to back down in the face of rigged elections, and they succeeded.īut as history tells us and shows, and as we know, Ukraine’s leaders proved incapable of delivering on the promise of democratic revolution. In the West, as here we remember, the Orange Revolution - young men and women who filled the Maidan a decade ago demanding that their voices and their votes both be respected. The stakes for your country and the expectations of your people have never been higher because Ukraine, as you know better than I, has been here before. Chairman, members of the Rada, ladies and gentlemen, I am deeply honored to be invited to speak to you today at a moment marked by great opportunity, as well as great uncertainty for the people of Ukraine. What a great honor for me to be able to represent my country before such an august audience.
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