At the International Conference “Defending Democracy: Battlefield of Truth”, Professor Olivier Védrine of the Jean Monnet Association, a partner of the Westminster Alliance for Ukraine, delivered a powerful message on the centrality of truth in the defense of democracy.
Védrine, who spent ten years in Ukraine and was active during the Maidan protests, reminded that the fight for Ukraine is also a fight for facts, integrity, and democratic values.
Opening Remarks by Olivier Védrine
The theme of today’s discussion is Defending Democracy – The Battlefield of Truth. If there is one word I would underline, it is truth.
I spent ten years in Ukraine. As many of you know, I was on Maidan for three months — very active, speaking several times from the stage. At that time, I also served as a political advisor to a President of one of the EU institutions on Ukraine.
And I agree with much of what has already been said. Just last week, I spoke about the enormous post-trauma syndrome that affects both civilians and soldiers in Ukraine.
But if we truly want to win this war — not only militarily, but morally — we must not use the same propaganda tools as Putin. Defending democracy means defending truth.
As a journalist, I know this very well. I hosted my own TV show in Ukraine on three national channels, starting in 2015. From the very beginning, my goal was clear: facts — only facts. I refused to do propaganda, because that is the language of the aggressor.
We, as Europeans and representatives of Western democracies, must always stand by the truth and the facts.
Who is lying? Russia.
Who attacked Ukraine? Russia.
Let’s be absolutely clear about that.
Democracy is the best system humanity has ever found. We don’t have to excuse it. We don’t have to lie to defend it. We just have to speak the truth.
Democracy means human rights, freedom of speech, social care, development, diversity — united in diversity — as the European Union’s motto says.
We already have all the tools, all the “weapons,” to defeat totalitarianism. But we are not using them boldly enough. If we truly want to support Ukraine, we must act: send weapons, send help on the ground, rebuild infrastructure, and care for those suffering from trauma.
At the same time, we must show that Western democracy is not just a political system — it is the only system that can bring happiness and dignity to the people.
As it says in the U.S. Constitution — “We the people” — and also in the French Constitution — “The people.”
The people of Ukraine deserve democracy.
And we — Europe, the United States, Canada, the entire democratic world — must support Ukraine because Ukraine deserves it.
The panel was held as part of the international conference “Defending Democracy: Battlefield of Truth”, organized within the framework of the project “Democratic Navigator”, with the support of the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany.