President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the Yale CEO Summit in a video conference mode.
The event, which took place in New York this year, brought together 100 top managers of global companies, as well as leading academics from American universities, including Yale, Harvard and Columbia.
The President thanked the American people, business and the state for their support of Ukraine.
"Strength is in the unification of the world. Support is the most important thing," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
According to him, it is thanks to the unification of the world community that the aggressor is being countered together, in particular through the imposition of sanctions, the provision of weapons to Ukraine, political and economic support, and so on.
At the same time, the Head of State stressed that the war in Ukraine continues and the world should remember it.
"The war was not over after driving the Russian troops out of the Kyiv region and some other occupied areas. Fighting continues in the east. As long as they are on our territory, this war is for freedom, for sovereignty, for the principles of international law and for democracy. It is very important for us not only to talk about this, but also to ensure that these words lead to concrete conclusions," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
During the Q&A session, the President was asked what the owners of global companies, including American ones, could do to help Ukraine now and during the post-war recovery. The Head of State noted that first of all, representatives of the world business community will help if their companies finally leave the market of the aggressor country and work to weaken Russia by continuing to impose effective tough sanctions.
"This is our common war. Companies that are in the market of the Russian Federation must leave, and leave fully. The most important thing for us is that their taxes will not finance the weapons with which the Russians are killing us," the President of Ukraine stressed.
Instead, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, these businesses can find a place in the Ukrainian economy. By opening their offices in our country, international companies will support the Ukrainian economy and create jobs for citizens who lost their jobs and homes due to the war.
According to the President, only a strong Ukraine and a real union of world leaders, including the United States, Canada, the EU, Australia, countries of Africa and Asia, can force Russia and President Vladimir Putin to move to real negotiations to end the war.
"If we want to defend the principles of democracy today, the principles of civilization, we must defend Ukraine. Defend by both the timely supply of weapons and sanctions," said the President.
He noted that the missiles that Russia uses against Ukraine have shown that the distance between the countries is conditional, and Russian weapons can cause destruction and casualties anywhere on the planet.
"One country cannot dictate conditions to the whole world. If Ukraine does not withstand it, then, believe me, Poland, the Baltic countries, Europe will be next. The appetite of this state, which has violated international law and our territorial integrity, is huge. It has the same appetite in business, without any market laws. They will start dictating conditions to you, too: how to do business, with whom to do business, with which states you can cooperate and with which you cannot,” the President of Ukraine warned.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for assistance in resolving the issue of unblocking Ukrainian ports so that Ukraine could export grain to prevent the global food crisis and famine in many countries.
The President also called on the leading scientific and business community to join the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, which he believes will be a powerful economic project. And today each of the companies can support our state through the fundraising platform UNITED24.
At the end of the meeting, the organizers announced the awarding of Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the Legend in Leadership Award. This award honors world leaders who leave an inspiring legacy, showed heroism and influenced cultures, industries or countries.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked for this award and noted that he perceived it as an award for the entire Ukrainian people.
Serhiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, received the award for the Head of State in New York.