Ukrainians!
Our defenders!
The 58th day of our defense is coming to an end. It ends on Good Friday, one of the most sorrowful days of the year for Christians. The day when death seems to have won. But... We hope for a resurrection. We believe in the victory of life over death. And we pray that death loses.
This year, during the full-scale war, Russia's war against our state, these words have a special meaning for us.
Russia brought death to Ukraine. After eight years of brutal war in Donbas, Russia wanted to destroy our state completely. Literally deprive Ukrainians of the right to life. But no matter how fierce the battles are, there is no chance for death to defeat life. Everyone knows that. Every Christian knows that. This is a basic element of our culture.
Perhaps this does not exist in modern Russian culture anymore. Because in order to do everything they did to Ukrainians in our cities... you have to kill a human inside you. Because a human of any faith simply cannot do that.
But for our culture, it all matters. And it will matter. And life will surely defeat death.
I am grateful to our British friends for the important symbolic decision announced today to return the embassy to Kyiv. The United Kingdom became the twenty-first country to return a diplomatic mission to our capital. And this shows that we are not the only ones who believe in the victory of life over death.
