Sophia Michaels
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a strong message to share during the Golden Globes Tuesday: the war with Russia is not yet over, but Ukraine will be victorious.
After being introduced by Sean Penn, Zelensky shared a pre-recorded message where he assured attendees at the film and TV awards ceremony that thanks to the support of the free world, “the tide is turning.”
“The First World War claimed millions of lives. The Second World War claimed 10s of millions of them. There will be no Third World War,” Zelensky assured during the telecast. “It is not a trilogy: Ukraine will stop the Russian aggression on our land.”
Zelensky opened his speech by addressing how the Second World War was nearing its end when the first-ever Golden Globe Awards were presented in 1943. It was clear who would win, but there were still some battles to be fought.
“It is now 2023: the war in Ukraine is not over yet, but the tide is turning, and it is already clear who will win,” Zelensky said. “But there are still battles and tears ahead. But now I can definitely tell you who were the best in the previous year: It was you, the free people of the free world, those who united around the support of the free Ukrainian people in our common struggle for freedom and democracy.”
“For the right to live, to love, to give birth. No matter who you are, no matter where you’re from, no matter who you are with, the struggle for the right of the new generations to know about the war only from movies,” he added. “We will make it together … I hope all of you will be with us on the victorious day: the day of our victory.”
The message from Zelensky comes about a month after he met with President Joe Biden at the White House during his first trip outside of Ukraine since Russian’s invasion last February.
“Against all odds and doom and gloom, Ukraine didn’t fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking,” said the Ukrainian president at the beginning of his address, thanking those present. “The Russian tyranny has lost control over us.”
Leading up to Zelensky’s visit, the Biden administration announced it would send nearly $2 billion in additional security assistance to Ukraine, including a sophisticated new Patriot missile defense system, CNN reported. The system could aid Ukraine’s defense against Russian missile attacks that Zelensky previously said have targeted about half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Last year, during the 2022 Grammy Awards, Zelensky appeared from a bunker, asking for unity in the country’s fight against Russia.
“The war, what’s more opposite to music?” Zelenskyy asked then. “The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died. And we’ll never see them drawing. Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning. In bomb shlters, but alive. Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again.”
