“I thank everyone who has come here today for the sake of this help, help for Ukraine. […] Support Ukraine, because Ukraine supports the whole world. Fight for Ukraine, because Ukraine fights for the whole world,” Zelensky said.

He noted that 107 days ago Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, which resulted in tens of thousands of explosions and shots, hundreds of thousands of those wounded and killed, millions who have lost their homes, peaceful cities and villages wiped off the face of the earth – and all of this is the reality of Ukrainians.

“All this is not the scenery of a blockbuster about the apocalypse. All of this is our reality,” Zelensky said.

In his video address, the president also showed photos and videos of the consequences of Russia’s cruise missiles that struck schools, hospitals, theaters, museums, entire streets and neighborhoods: “It’s not VFX, not computer graphics. All of this is our reality,” he added.

At the same time, Zelensky stressed that “we will rebuild Ukraine, streets and neighborhoods” and “we will heal bodies from wounds and souls from losses.”

“During World War II, when all the metal was needed at the front line, the Oscar statuette was made of plaster. It can fairly be said that this is a symbolic gesture that does not drastically affect the course of the war, but we cannot claim that the world would have defeated Nazism without a piece of metal. No. We do not know for sure. That is why we know that any help is valuable and important,” Zelensky said.

He also stressed that Ukraine is fighting for democracy, freedom and life.