“Exactly one hundred days ago, we all woke up to a different reality.” Thus begins Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech this Friday, as the war reaches its hundredth day. On the occasion of the date, the Ukrainian president gave a speech where he says that to commemorate the 100 days of war, 100 words are needed. Some that “give hope”, such as “victory”, others that are “painful”, such as “torture”, but each one with a symbolic weight. “Every day we had words that are now much more than words for everyone. Strong language”, said the Ukrainian president. “Hostomel”, “Borodyanka”, “Okhtyrka”, “Chernihiv”, “Kharkiv”, “Kherson”, “Izyum”, “Melitopol”, “Mariupol” and “Azovstal”, Zelensky lists.
But not only the words mark the war. “Numbers instead of words. When we see the death toll every morning. The number of injured. The number of bombings. The number of missiles. When a new number appears next to the word ‘children’ every morning. Today — 261. Already 261 children were killed by the Russian invasion. So that? There are no words that can answer this question.”
The first word of Zelensky’s speech is two, actually, “our heroes.” The last “peace, victory, Ukraine”, those for which, says the Head of State, the Ukrainians have been fighting for a hundred days, “already after eight years” of conflict in Donbass. Zelensky also remembers Ukrainian words, but also foreign ones, that give name to much of the weaponry that has become part of the country’s daily life: “Bayraktar”, “Harpoon”, “HIMARS” or “Starlink”.
“It is a word that reflects something important about our character. Ukrainian character. The ‘Javelins’ that scared enemies because they hoped the armor would save them. And then it caused a smile, our smile, when the Ukrainians also painted ‘Holy Javelin’”. Still talking about weapons, Zelensky recalls the name of the missiles that sank the Russian cruiser Moskva: “The word everyone in Ukraine toasts to: ‘Neptune’.”
The list does not end: “army”, “artillery”, “marines”, “border guards”, “intelligence”, “national guards”, “police”, “territorial defense”, “aviation”, “heroic pilots” . And also the word “ghost” – the ghost of kyiv, who destroyed the enemies and survived.
“There were also words that our enemy wanted to erase.” Examples are from cities: “Volnovakha” and “Saltivka”, “Popasna” and “Severodonetsk”. These are words that, of course, the Ukrainians have rewritten. But in our way. As well as ‘loofah’. Like ‘Mariupol’. And we will certainly write them next to the word ‘cut’”.
In other words – “filtered”, “deportation”, “torture”, “execution”, “carpet bombing”, “missile attack”: Ukraine will respond only with “justice”.
“There were also words that gave us hope and for which we particularly fought. ‘Humanitarian corridors’, which became a way of life for hundreds of thousands of people and made it possible to overcome another word, the terrible word ‘checkpoints’. From the first day we have words whose distance is like between darkness and light. We avoid a word. This word is ‘refugees’. And, by another word, we believe that millions of us have a future. She will be at home in Ukraine. That word is ‘displaced people’”.
Zelensky’s role continues and speaks of “Iskander”, “phosphorus bombs” and “tractor troops”.
“And one more phrase is worth mentioning: ‘the second army in the world.’ At first it seemed threatening. So dangerous. After Bucha – caused disgust. And now, just a bitter smile. Because what is left of him? From the army, which was called the second army in the world… War crimes, disgrace and hatred”.
At the end of the speech, Zelensky points out the words that will be the future of Ukraine: reconstruction, candidacy and accession, guarantees and security. “And definitely the word ‘return.’ Of course, according to the word, it was a dream, but it will come true: ‘liberation’.”
Source: Observadora
