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To our friends
in Ukraine,

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and those Ukrainians
who are here in Germany,

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I extend my most
sincere congratulations

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on your country's
Independence Day.

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Today would normally be filled with
joyful concerts, picnics and parades,

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held under a blue
Ukrainian summer sky,

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in cities and parks,
and in rural villages.

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But the dark shadow of Russia’s brutal
war of aggression remains a heavy burden –

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also on this 24th day of August,

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six months to the day
after the war began.

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Our hearts
go out to those

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whose lives are being claimed every
day by Russia’s terrorising war,

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who are being
wounded and maimed.

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Tens of thousands of
innocent Ukrainian women,

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men and children.

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Today is no exception.

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We mourn with those who have
lost friends or family members.

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Who have had to flee
their beloved homeland,

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or who have been abducted
by the Russian occupiers.

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Who have lost all their possessions
in a hail of Russian bombs,

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rockets
and artillery shells.

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I will never forget my
visit to war-torn Irpin.

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Our thoughts go
out to those

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who are currently living in
Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory

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and who must
endure great suffering –

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in Crimea, in the Donbas,
in Kherson,

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or in Zaporizhzhia Oblast,

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where Cossack
culture was born.

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And our thoughts turn
to Ukraine’s heroes,

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to the men and women who for six
months now have been bravely defending

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their homeland against
the brutal aggressor.

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We are all impressed
by their courage.

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Tomorrow,
I will meet some of them:

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Ukrainian servicemen
and women

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who are currently being
trained here in Germany

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in the use
of air-defence tanks.

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Tanks we are
supplying to Ukraine.

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And we will continue
to supply weapons

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– ranging from self-propelled
howitzers to air-defence systems –

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month after month.

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We will continue to train
Ukrainian servicemen and women

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so they can use Europe’s most
modern military equipment.

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We will maintain
our sanctions.

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We will support
Ukraine financially,

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and we are helping to rebuild
destroyed towns and villages.

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Our trains will continue to be
loaded with Ukrainian grain,

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transporting it to
Europe’s harbours.

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Our hospitals will continue to
treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers.

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Our borders and our hearts
remain open for all those

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who are forced to flee the terror
imposed on them by Russia.

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Nearly one million Ukrainians have
come to our country in recent months.

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More than 150,000 girls and boys are
attending kindergarten or school here.

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I can only imagine how dreadfully
everyone must miss not only their homes –

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but too often also
their fathers, husbands,

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friends and sons who have
stayed behind in Ukraine.

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I want you to know that,

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here in Germany,
you are among friends.

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You are most
warmly welcome!

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Neighbours help each other
out in times of need.

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Germany therefore stands firmly by
Ukraine’s side in this hour of danger –

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today and for as long as
Ukraine needs our support.

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What defines us as Europe

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– freedom and the rule of law,
pluralism and democracy –

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all that is being
defended today in Ukraine.

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At the European Council
meeting in June, we said:

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yes, the future of Ukraine
lies within this free Europe,

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as a member of
the European Union.

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Your yellow and blue flag and
that of the EU,

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with yellow stars on
a blue background,

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are cut from
the same cloth.

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Together with Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen,

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we will therefore
be hosting

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an international Ukraine
reconstruction conference

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in Berlin at the
end of October,

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at which we will map out a
path for Ukraine’s future.

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Europe, united in freedom
and democracy,

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is much stronger than Russia’s
backward-looking imperialism.

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Dear Ukrainians, Your country will
cast off the dark shadows of war.

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Because it is strong
and courageous.

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And because it has friends, in
Europe and throughout the world.

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We are proud to count
ourselves among your friends.

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Today – and as we
share a European future.

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Slava Ukraini!