Marking the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine

TALMANNEN

Honourable members! I would first like to invite you to rise to welcome Her Excellency the Ambassador of Ukraine, Svitlana Zalisjtjuk, to the Swedish Parliament.

(Applause)

On this day four years ago, I welcomed the ambassador's representative here to the Riksdag. The full-scale Russian invasion had then only been ongoing for a few hours. It was a charged moment when no one knew what would happen, but when everyone realized that we stood before a decisive moment in Europe's history. Then, the parliamentary election in September 2022 was approaching here in Sweden. Now, the parliamentary election in September 2026 is approaching.

A whole parliamentary term, four long years, has passed. Four years, during which the Ukrainian civilian population has had to endure massacres and terror bombings, sorrow and suffering. But we also look back at four years when Ukraine, at first against all odds, has managed to hold the attacker back – four years of struggle, heroism and will to resist.

I visited Ukraine last year and strongly remember what I saw through the train window as we rolled into the railway station in Kyiv. On another platform stood a little girl with a bunch of balloons in her hand. Perhaps she was having a birthday. Perhaps she was on her way to celebrate someone else's. Regardless, I was deeply moved. That snapshot showed both the consequences of the war and the will to resist. That millions of Ukrainian children are growing up in the shadow of the Russian warfare is one of the war's cruelest consequences. But at the same time, my heart warmed at the defiance and the will to resist that exists in wanting to celebrate birthdays even in an evil time.

That Ukraine has succeeded in halting the Russian advance is primarily due to the unity, initiative, and willingness to sacrifice of the Ukrainian people. But the support of the rest of the world has also played a role. Therefore, I am happy and proud of the unity that this Riksdag has shown in its support for Ukraine, most recently manifested during last week's foreign policy debate here in the chamber. This unity is a strength. It shows that we all, despite differences of opinion in many other issues, stand behind the importance of defending democracy, freedom, and every nation's right to self-determination. It is a unity that is also reflected in broad popular support for Ukraine here in Sweden.

Another piece of evidence for the support Ukraine enjoys is the Speakers' meeting within the framework of the Crimea Platform, which was held here in the Riksdag this autumn. The meeting gathered representatives from almost 70 of the world's parliaments, from all continents. That so many countries were represented does not only show how broad the support for Ukraine is. It also shows that many more than we realize that it is not only Ukraine's freedom that is at stake in this fight. Those who fight, suffer, and die in Ukraine do so in defense of all our freedom.

Ukraine's civilian population is now enduring its fourth war winter. Extreme cold and escalated Russian attacks on civil infrastructure make it the hardest war winter so far. Four years of fighting have not only left traces in the form of a multitude of new graves. Nature has also been devastated. The consequences of the war are addressed at a lunch seminar here in the Riksdag today. Everyday life in Ukraine after four years of war is one perspective, security policy challenges another. But even the severe effects on the environment are highlighted.

Honorable members! The frozen front lines, the trenches, the barbed wire obstacles, and a no-man's-land covered in craters are reminiscent of the horrors of the First World War. To this, we can soon add another similarity. If the war is still raging when we gather here for the conclusion in June, it will have lasted as long as the First World War.

The consequences of the Treaty of Versailles have been discussed for more than a century. Many are now warning of the consequences if Ukraine is forced to sign a peace agreement that partly rewards the aggressor Russia, and partly risks only providing a short respite before new Russian attacks. But there is a decisive difference between the two wars. While the First World War broke out as a consequence of complicated great power entanglements, Russia's war against Ukraine is precisely this: Russia's war against Ukraine. The war was started by Russia and can cease in an instant if Russia were to follow international law and withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory.

The only way to secure a just and lasting peace is to continue supporting Ukraine and increase the pressure on Russia. That is why the coalition of the willing is so important. That is why Sweden's support will continue until the day the war is over and all of Ukraine is free again, and also long after that.

(Applause)

Honorable members! The Ukrainian author Viktorija Amelina debuted in 2015 and has been awarded several literary prizes. After the full-scale Russian invasion, she began documenting war crimes. On June 27, 2023, she was seriously injured in a Russian missile attack against Kramatorsk, where she was eating at a pizza restaurant. She passed away three days later, 37 years old, as one of the 13 victims of the Russian attack.

Some time before she died, she wrote a poem about sorrow, pain, and hope. I want to conclude by reading it. I read it because it helps us understand the consequences of war for the people. I read it in memory of Viktorija Amelina and in memory of all the other lives extinguished during Russia's unjust war. I read it because it is an expression of the Ukrainian culture that Russia claims does not exist – the culture that Russia wants to destroy.

On the barren spring field stands a woman dressed in black and cries out her sisters' names like a bird in the empty sky.

She will cry them all out The one who flew away too early The one who begged to be allowed to die The one who could not hold back death The one who never stopped waiting The one who never stopped believing The one who always mourns in silence

She shall cry them all down into the earth as she sowed the field with pain, and from the pain and the women's language her new sisters shall grow up from the earth and sing merrily about life again.

But how will it go for her, the crow? She stays forever here in the field, since her cry is the only thing that keeps all the swallows flying.

Do you hear how she calls out and one by name?

Thank you! Glory to Ukraine!

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)