Petro Poroshenko met with youth leaders as part of the special project “NATO Model “Mission: Rebuilding Security”. According to the fifth President, Ukraine’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration is inseparable from democratic reforms. And the precise position of Ukrainian youth on the attack on anti-corruption bodies proves once again that Ukraine will never return to the Soviet Union.
“There is no alternative to NATO for us. We are not asking permission to join there. No one — first of all Putin — has the right to veto Ukraine’s accession. The right to decide is for the Ukrainian people and NATO member countries,” Poroshenko emphasized.
“What should we bring to NATO? Some, in particular the Russians, are trying to present Ukraine as a beggar with an outstretched hand. Every dollar that NATO allocates to Ukraine, they present as charity or a handout. But this is not true. Because in fact, this is an investment by the West in its own security. It is difficult to imagine a more effective use of taxpayers’ money than supporting Ukraine,” the fifth President believes.
“The events of the last week have restored my faith in the Ukrainian people, in their ability to protect Europe and the world. Because all these people grew up in conditions when the USSR no longer poisoned the blood of Ukrainians. Fortunately, the Soviet Union did not affect any of you. And what was the impact of the Soviet Union? To fear. To squeeze. To suppress. To squeeze out the personality. The events of last week have demonstrated that we are not afraid. The youth came out just as they did in 2013-14 during the Revolution of Dignity. They came out to defend the European direction of the state’s development. They do not want to live in a Soviet Union,” Poroshenko emphasized.
When asked by one of the participants in the discussion whether it is right to criticize the government during a war, Poroshenko said: “You don’t need to attack. You need to tell the truth. Don’t be silent. What would have happened if we had kept silent for the last week and swallowed the situation with NABU? When they say that it harms the state – no! Because when we are silent, the soldier on the front loses motivation. Because he says: “I am here not only for the Ukrainian land, I am here for the future of my children, who should be in Ukraine – members of the European Union,” – Poroshenko believes.
“You are not weakening Ukraine at all – you are strengthening it. Because only a democratic country can win the war. Because if we continue the movement towards corrupt authoritarianism – this deprives us of any chances. Therefore, my recommendation and the main conclusion that we are now drawing from this: do not be silent. Tell the truth,” – emphasized Petro Poroshenko.