Fellow citizens!

Annually, February 15, we observe the Day of Commemoration of Combatants in the Territories of Other States and the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Afghanistan.

In distant Afghanistan, 29 years ago, ended a brutal war, which affected a lot of Ukrainian families: about 160,000 compatriots - boys and girls, men and women – who choose not to go through this ordeal, 12,000 Ukrainian military returned maimed from that war, other 3,380 never returned. Ukrainian families haven’t still got over this bereavement.

The war in Afghanistan once again proved that the empire had always used the conquered peoples as cannon fodder to achieve their phantom and odious political goals.

Today, the war unleashed by Russia and its terrorist aggression rages through the territory of our state. Among those who were first to rise to defend our country were the participants of the war in Afghanistan, being to the younger generations of our defenders an example of patriotism, heroism and courage. The participants of the war in Afghanistan have become an integral part of the national military tradition and history, in which they input their unique and distinctive page. Ukrainian society highly values this experience and service. Therefore, may the words of gratitude for our Afghan veterans be heard throughout Ukraine!

In deep sorrow, we bow our heads to the fallen Ukrainian warriors who served their military duty in the territory of Afghanistan and other states. And this is why our shared responsibility is to protect independence and territorial integrity of our country, to stop the Russian terrorist invasion and to prevent Ukrainian sons and daughters sacrificing their lives for the interests of foreign states.