President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation, speaking about his meeting with young heroes of our country and the necessity of visa restrictions for citizens of the aggressor state.

"I wish health to all dear Ukrainians!

Today in Ukraine we are celebrating International Youth Day together with most countries around the world for the first time. Last summer, it was decided to move the celebration to August 12th so that we could be united with Europe symbolically as well. And this worked out. Today, Youth Day felt very natural.

And above all, together with the First Lady, we met young rescuers—well done, I am proud of you—young children and teenagers who are not only brave but also responsible beyond their years. They collect money for the army, they help our wounded, they help people, they save lives.

We held a special ceremony at Mariinsky Palace in the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine to honor these young heroes. Maxim Brovchenko, Irinka Vasylyeva, Oleksandr Hutsal, Yegor Shemet, David Ponulyak, Hlib Bondarenko, Andriy Pokrasa, Danylo Serhiiev. They are between seven and sixteen years old, but they are heroes. Their actions can make one proud because not everyone has such deeds in their biography.

I also met today with representatives of various youth communities and organizations—educational, volunteer, military, creative, "Plast," representatives of the diaspora... There was also Marina Vyazovska—a very proud moment—one of the most famous young Ukrainians who received the highest mathematics award in the world, the Fields Medal.

We had a warm and fruitful discussion about defending our country, about victory—it is not far off—and about Ukraine's future, about our institutions. Many good ideas were voiced—we will implement them.

I held talks with the pontiff today. I thanked Pope Francis for supporting Ukrainians. We discussed what we can do together to bring peace back to the country. I informed him of the situation on the front lines and Russia's ongoing attempts to escalate terror levels. He agrees, he supports us.

The day before in Latvia a decision was made—Latvia officially recognized Russia as a sponsor of terrorism. We are working on getting the entire world to do the same. This is fair. This is right. And this will happen. 

After everything that occupiers have done in Ukraine, there can only be one attitude towards Russia—as a terrorist state. And by the way, it's from exactly this point of view that we should determine our stance toward Russian citizens.

I thank the Czech Republic, Baltic states and other countries for bringing up the issue of visas for citizens of the aggressor state in official European discussions. Of course, we all understand: there are people who genuinely need protection, who are persecuted in Russia, even may be killed, so they should receive help from civilized world. These are known legal mechanisms—through asylum, through refugee applications, through other ways to help and support them. But this is for those who fight, for those who are being persecuted. And it shouldn't apply to Russian citizens' leisure time in Europe, tourism, entertainment, business matters. Working for a terrorist state is not allowed...

First of all, there must be guarantees that Russian killers and accomplices of state terrorism will not benefit from the Schengen area. And secondly, we cannot ruin our shared European values, meaning we can't turn Europe into a supermarket where it doesn’t matter who comes in—as long as someone pays for goods.

Therefore, visa restrictions for citizens of the Russian Federation are justified and all defenders of European values should insist on them.

In the evening I signed a decree to honor our soldiers, heroes. 181 participants in combat actions were awarded state awards, including 33 posthumously. In total, over 26,500 Ukrainians have already been honored during the war.

I am grateful to everyone who is defending our country! Who holds back very harsh blows of occupiers in Pisky, Avdiivka, on the Bakhmut direction... Who keeps Kharkiv region and defends our south, our beloved Ukraine.

We will do everything so that every occupant, the terrorist state as a whole, feels fully what a strong Ukrainian response to their terror is like.

Glory to all our soldiers!

Glory to Ukraine!»