Over the past four years, the list of Ukrainian cities and villages where Russia has brought war and death has grown, which means much greater determination and pressure on the Russian leader and Russia are needed. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his address to participants of the Bucha Summit 2026. This year, 23 foreign delegations attended the event.
At the start of the summit, the organizers showed a video depicting the consequences of the Russian occupation of Bucha in 2022. The President emphasized that it is not only documented evidence of the atrocities committed by the Russian leader and his army in Ukraine, not only a portrait and essence of today’s Russia, but also a certain judgment for the entire civilized world, international institutions, and the law. And that judgment is reflected not just in what has been seen, but also in what is still absent.
“There is a lack of footage showing war criminals standing trial, each killer hearing their verdict, all inhumans receiving inevitable punishment for their actions. We must do everything so that these things are not left only in our statements, in our imagination, not only in the tears of our people, not just in emotions or on paper. Otherwise, the concept of ‘justice’ will be devalued. Only by defending the truth and restoring justice will the world have a chance for a peaceful future,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Head of State stressed that Russia does not want to stop the war as long as it has two things: oil, which funds killings, and impunity, which signals that it can continue in the same manner.
“Right now, Ukraine is acting using its own capabilities, its own diplomatic strikes, while the world can and must act through sanctions. Restore the power of law, limit the law of force. Every European country needs legal mechanisms to stop Russia: to halt tankers, seize Russian oil, stop Russian lackeys and collaborators in the world — and they exist in Europe — to halt Kremlin special operations on the continent,” the President emphasized.
Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted that the memory of Bucha requires not only sympathy—it demands decisions and action. This includes the swift launch of the Special Tribunal, the International Compensation Commission for Ukraine, the return of children kidnapped by Russia, and ensuring that the aggressor is neither forgotten nor forgiven.
“The inevitability of consequences for all Russian criminals in the future, when everyone who committed atrocities in Bucha and across Ukraine will receive verdicts, rather than Schengen visas or political asylum. Otherwise, both in Ukraine and anywhere in Europe, there will always be a risk of new aggression, a new invasion, a new Bucha. We in Europe all have the right to live without fear. This right must be realized,” said the Head of State.
The President stressed that we cannot forget or erase what Ukraine has endured—the catastrophe in every Ukrainian city and village where Russia brought war and death. This includes Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka, Mariupol, Yahidne, Avdiivka, Olenivka, Vuhledar, Chasiv Yar, and many others.
“From the first summit to today, this list, unfortunately, has grown. This means one thing: we need much more determination, much more pressure on Putin and Russia, and far more concrete actions and steps that bring closer the victory of peace and justice,” concluded Volodymyr Zelensky.
