President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation and expressed certainty in the inevitable punishment of occupiers who committed war crimes in our country.

"Today, this address will be without greetings. I don't want any unnecessary words."

Presidents usually do not record such addresses as this one. But today, I must say exactly this. To say after what was revealed in Bucha and other of our cities from which the occupiers were expelled. Hundreds of killed people. Buried, shot dead peaceful civilians. Bodies on the streets. Contaminated territory. Even the bodies of those killed were contaminated!

Widespread consequences of looting. Concentrated evil was present on our land. Murderers. Butchers. Rapists. Looters. Who call themselves an army. And who deserve only death after what they have done.

I want every mother of each Russian soldier to see the bodies of killed people in Bucha, Irpen, Hostomel. What did they do? Why were they killed? What did a man on his bicycle down the street do? Why were ordinary peaceful citizens tortured to death in an ordinary peaceful city? Why strangled women after pulling earrings out of their ears? How could they rape and kill women in front of children? Desecrate their bodies even after death? Why crush people's bodies with tanks? What did your Russia do to the Ukrainian town of Bucha? How was all this possible?

Russian mothers! Even if you raised looters, how did they become executioners as well? You could not have failed to know what was inside your children. You could not have missed that they were devoid of everything human. No soul. No heart. They killed consciously and with pleasure.

I want all the leaders of the Russian Federation to see how their orders are carried out. Such orders. Such execution. And collective responsibility. For these killings, for these tortures, for these arms torn off by explosions that lie on the streets. For shooting in the back of tied-up people.

This is now how the Russian state will be perceived. This is your image.

Your culture and human decency died along with Ukrainians and Ukrainian women to whom you came.

I have adopted a decision to establish a special judicial mechanism in Ukraine for investigating and judicial consideration of every crime committed by occupiers on the territory of our state. The essence of this mechanism is joint work of national and international experts: investigators, prosecutors, and judges. This mechanism will help Ukraine and the world hold individuals accountable who ordered or otherwise participated in this terrible war against the Ukrainian people and in crimes against our people.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Prosecutor General, National Police, Security Service, intelligence services, and other structures according to their competence must direct all efforts towards ensuring that the mechanism functions immediately.

I call upon all our citizens and friends of Ukraine around the world who can join this work and help establish justice to do so.

The world has seen many war crimes at different times. On different continents. But now is the time to do everything to make Russian military war crimes the last such manifestation of evil on earth.

Every perpetrator of such crimes will be entered into a special Book of Butchers, found and punished.

Ukrainians! Ukrainian women!

I want you to realize this. We have expelled the enemy from the territory of several regions. But under Russian military control, occupied areas of other regions still remain. And after expelling the occupiers from there, even more terrible things may be revealed. Even more deaths and atrocities. For such is the nature of Russian soldiers who came to our land. These are degenerates who cannot do otherwise. And such were their orders.

All partners of Ukraine will be thoroughly informed about what happened on temporarily occupied territory of our state. War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will be reviewed at the UN Security Council on Tuesday.

A new sanctions package against Russia is inevitable. But I am convinced that this is not enough. More conclusions are needed. Not only about Russia but also about political behavior that actually allowed this evil to come to our land.

Today marks fourteen years since the NATO summit in Bucharest. Then there was a chance to take Ukraine out of the 'gray zone' in Eastern Europe. Out of the 'gray zone' between NATO and Russia.

Out of the gray zone, which Moscow thinks allows them everything. Even the most terrible war crimes.

Behind optimistic diplomatic formulations about Ukraine possibly becoming a member of NATO in 2008 was hidden a refusal to accept Ukraine into the alliance. A pointless fear of some politicians towards Russia was concealed. They thought that by refusing Ukraine, they could appease Russia. Convince her to respect Ukraine and live peacefully alongside us.

Fourteen years after this mistaken calculation, Ukraine has gone through a revolution and eight years of war in Donbas. And now we are fighting for our lives in the most terrible European war since World War II.

I invite Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy to visit Bucha and see what fourteen years of Russian policy have led to. To see with their own eyes buried Ukrainians and Ukrainian women.

I want to be understood correctly. We do not blame the West. We do not blame anyone but specific Russian soldiers who committed these crimes against our people, and those who gave them orders. But we have a right to speak about indecision. About how it led to such a Bucha, such a Hostomel, such a Kharkiv, such a Mariupol. We have no indecision. Whether in or out of the bloc, we understand one thing: we must be strong.

Fourteen years ago, the leader of Russia told Western leaders in Bucharest that there is no such country as Ukraine. And we are proving that there is such a country. Was and will be.

We will not hide behind the strong powers of this world. We will not beg anyone.

In fact, we should not have had to ask for weapons to defend ourselves from this evil that came to our land. All necessary arms were supposed to be provided without asking. For they themselves clearly understood what kind of evil was coming and what it brought with it.

We see what is at stake in this war. We see what we are defending.

There are standards of the Ukrainian army — moral and professional. And it is not our army that needs to adjust now. Many other armies need to learn from our soldiers.

And there are standards of Ukrainian people. And there are standards of Russian occupiers. This is good and evil. This is Europe and a black hole that wants to tear everything apart and consume it.

We will win this war. Even if some politicians fail to overcome indecision, which they pass on to successors with their positions.

And in Bucha already all necessary services are working to return the city to life. Restoring electricity supply, water supply. Restoring medical facilities operation. Restoring infrastructure. Giving people security. For Russia has been expelled. And Ukraine is returning. And restoring life.

I visited today in the border service hospital our border guards, our heroes. Wounded fighters.

Eight of them I awarded state honors. Also honored with an award a doctor orthopedic traumatologist — medical officer who is a leading military traumatologist of Ukraine and has already saved many Ukrainian defenders.

In total, by decree, I honored 41 border guards with state awards.

It was the servicemen of the State Border Guard Service who first met fire from occupiers when they went on the offensive on February 24. Now our boys and girls are returning to the state border as we expel the occupiers.

I am convinced that there will be a time, and the entire line of Ukraine's state border will be restored.

And for this to happen sooner, all of us must focus, be ready to bravely look evil in the eye and respond to every criminal act against Ukraine, against our people, against our freedom.

Evil will be punished.

Glory to Ukraine!