Dear sisters!

We, Ukrainian women, were destined to survive a terrible war that has not yet ended. You remember my speeches in previous years, NRZHU did everything possible to inform the world about the Kremlin’s aggressive plans. But large-scale aggression came to our homes and today I left Ukraine with great difficulty to tell you that you can still save your homes, but it requires effort. If you think that Ukraine is far away and the war is far away, then this may be a wrong step.

Let’s recall the history – the Mongol-Tatars captured and destroyed Georgia and the Crimea in 1222, in 1237 they conquered the cities of the Volga state, in 1238 they razed the Principality of Chernihiv, Kievan Rus’ to the ground, in 1240 – Poland and Hungary, the following year – Moldova and Romania, then Croatia and Lithuania. All these countries fought wars of liberation for tens of years, the Mongol-Tatars ruled the territory of present-day Russia for almost 150 years, after which the Muscovite kingdom was formed there. The kingdom, and later the Russian Empire, all the time of its existence seized the lands of neighboring states, because of which it fell apart, but then seized it again. The last empire in the world for its survival again captured Chechnya, part of Moldova, Georgia, Ukrainian Donbas, annexed Crimea. We blame Putin for everything, but when he announced partial mobilization, about a million men left the country. The rest of the possible conscripts – up to 14 million – remained and most of them are ready to fight for Putin’s ideas of taking over Ukraine and Europe. They have this potential of Mongol-Tatar genes. You are witnesses of how they destroy, rape, and torture Ukrainians. They threaten us with shelling of any territories. I pass the intersection in the center of Kyiv, where the Russian rocket exploded, twice a day to my office and on the way home. That is, I could really be a victim of this explosion. But we stopped being afraid. We do not want to return to the prison that was the Soviet Union. That is why I came to you to tell you about our determination to defend our freedom and yours.

I also received a letter from Cosima Schenk. I have always considered this wonderful woman to be a role model – her knowledge of languages, endurance, kindness – all the things that I miss so much from my Soviet childhood and youth. But today, as a professor who headed the laboratory at the Center for Radiation Medicine in Ukraine, I want to answer – nuclear weapons are really dangerous. But this is not Armageddon, not at all like they are trying to scare us. In 2004, I visited the Morshal Islands, near which nuclear weapons were tested. Yes, many fishermen who stuffed pillows with radioactive ash got sick and died, but the islands live their lives, children are born.

It is necessary to know and follow simple rules in the case of atomic explosions, to precisely determine a place where you can wait a week until the level of radiation decreases. Many Japanese survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki lived to be 90 years old. You can’t panic and be afraid. In case of danger (and our situation in Ukraine is the cause of stress in Europe), there are 4 types of behavior: to fight (to fight), to flee (to flee), to freeze and to flatter (to flatter? fawn) . We have nowhere to run from our land and yours, and the enemy inclines us to please him so that he does not « lose his face ». Everyone must be held accountable for their actions and the Russians must be held accountable for the fear they have instilled in us by making us believe that they will destroy the planet with one nuclear explosion? And how many different tests have there been?

Because of this fear, we count how much carbon monoxide our train consumed and do not count or publish data on how much carbon footprint each rocket or projectile leaves, how many heavy metals remain in water and soil during their explosions. Each of us is looking after a clean home, why do we allow the earth to be so badly polluted. We ban aerosol perfumes, but we don’t ban cluster bombs that destroy entire residential blocks with one volley. We fight domestic abusers against femicide, but we allow military operations in which thousands of women and hundreds of children die. We are fighting for the life of every sick child, and thousands of our children are being deported to Russia. About 7,000 children have already been taken away, and we are returning dozens with great difficulty.

Western civilization took human life as the basis of values. That is why the loss of even one of our compatriots is so painful for us. Now, when a funeral procession with a fallen defender passes through the street of a Ukrainian city or village, even random passers-by kneel, honoring his feat. Barbaric civilizations do not understand this, in Russia every year only from alcoholism about 500,000 people die, so for them almost 100,000 are lost in a war for territory.

The world froze in anticipation – will Russia use tactical nuclear weapons? Will he destroy the bridges across the Dnipro, dividing Ukraine in half? Will Belarus join this war?

And this is no longer a war for Ukraine.

For a very long time, we thought that there was no need to annoy our neighbor – we gave away the world’s third largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, and practically did not develop or manufacture weapons. Ukraine had a huge potential of scientists and manufacturers – we stopped everything so as not to doubt our peaceful initiatives. Therefore, today we are completely dependent on you – your countries give us the opportunity to fight, the opportunity to exist as a state. We are grateful for this, we hope that evil will not conquer the world. But it should not win, I am asking you on behalf of Ukrainian women – let’s stick together, let’s not doubt and let’s not be afraid. Let’s support our men also in the absence of fear. Everything is checked: different genetics, different values: kill, steal, scare. And we are not afraid and protect the world of love and freedom.

At our last meeting in Beirut, we talked about the low effectiveness of the influence of powerful public organizations on the modern world order. Yes, the UN, the International Society of the Red Cross, the IAEA turned out to be just well-paid offices whose decisions are implemented by those who want to do it. The war in Ukraine clearly highlighted who wants what and who can do what. In 1888, the International Council of Women was founded with the aim of ensuring that the world constantly hears the voice of women. Our statements and petitions should be addressed both to the public and to the authorities. We do not have to limit ourselves to ballots and resolutions for our own use. Yes, we are part of many public structures, they send us their decisions and other information. But ICW has its own characteristics and advantages. Among us there are many women who have worked for a long time in the power structures of various countries of the world. We can position ourselves as WOMEN – ELDERS OF THE WORLD or something like that. This is just my suggestion, but the collective experience of our organization is invaluable and we can use it to shape public opinion and bring it to power structures. I am not sure of the need for such a direction, but it could include women with certain age restrictions (for example, over 50 years old, who had real success in their activities). It could be a separate committee for interaction between the public and the authorities.

Thank you again for your support and we strive for unity!