On the eve of International Students' Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with students and professors of Colombian higher education institutions – the University of La Sabana, the Externado University, the University of Cartagena, the University of Santo Tomas, the Pontifical Bolivarian University and the University of the Andes.
“Our country’s struggle for survival has been ongoing for almost 1,000 days. And this struggle is not just about Ukraine – it concerns you as well, everyone who values freedom, the right to choose their own path, and a future without war. What this future will look like depends on each of us today – people living in different parts of the world but sharing the same understanding of such concepts as freedom and justice,” the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the struggle of Ukrainians against Russian aggression, as well as the attacks of the Russian Federation on cities and, in particular, educational institutions of Ukraine. He expressed confidence that this would help the youth of Colombia to better understand what modern Russia is and what its war against Ukraine is like.
“This is an attempt to restore a colonial empire, to enslave our people, to deprive us of our freedom and our right to choose. Colombians, who have experienced the struggle against colonialism, know what this means. They know how cruel invaders can be, how they try to break your resistance, and how important it is to fight, to defend your freedom and the right of every nation to live independently, to preserve their identity,” the Head of State added.
The President noted that in order to restore justice and lasting peace, Ukraine had presented the Peace Formula to the international community – a plan of concrete steps. Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the end of the war must be fair and the negotiations must be effective.
The parties also discussed the issue of accountability for all war criminals.
“Justice is needed for all the parents who lost their children, military and civilian. Justice is needed so that over time, all those who gave these bloody orders to kill us, our population, to bomb us every day – so that all these people are held accountable before the law, so that they receive their sentences,” the President said.
In addition, the parties discussed the North Korean military's involvement in the war and the international community's reaction to this fact.
“Two countries are against us, against Ukraine. And I would like NATO to turn words into action and strengthen Ukraine. We would very much like to be granted the ability to use long-range weapons against military targets on Russia's territory,” the Head of State concluded.