Resilience is not just a symbol, – Oleh Hryhorov

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

dear colleagues,

partners and friends of Ukraine!

For Sumy region, today’s event is special. We have never held such meetings in this format, under such difficult circumstances. For us, this is a new experience and, frankly, we worried a bit while preparing for it.

However, we have sufficient experience in cooperation with foreign governmental and non-governmental organizations, have implemented dozens of projects and attracted about 6 billion hryvnias since 2022 – this is more than half of all state investments in key development programs.

I sincerely hope that our partners are satisfied with the level of interaction and openness demonstrated by Sumy region.

Of course, we are not perfect but constantly learning. We are learning to act effectively, adhering to the principles and rules by which leading international programs and development projects operate.

Real trials provide invaluable experience. They form an inner confidence that can be described with a short phrase: “I don’t know how, but I can”. We are confident that when the war is over, this faith – faith in ourselves, in our own capabilities – will remain with us. And it will become the basis for rebuilding our state.

The resilience we often talk about actually rests on people; there are currently about 950 thousands of them in the region. These people demonstrate real strength. They stay because they believe that they will not be abandoned and supported. This is our land, and the question of “to hold on or not” simply does not arise for us.

Resilience is not just a symbol. It is a specific category that can be measured. It is time, physical and moral resources, a willingness to sacrifice, act and live on. Everyone who stayed in the Sumy region did it consciously. And everyone has their own reason, their own faith, their own deeply conscious decision to remain part of the future of Ukraine.

Sumy region withstands the enemy’s blows both in terms of energy and civil infrastructure. Every morning, we return to work: we treat, teach, repair, support each other, and all this happens against the background of the sounds of the shaheeds and the hum of generators. Because even now, our plans include a new country: modern, fair, and strong!

We are not a “fortress”, and not an outpost. Maybe, we are a something like what the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, aptly called an “iron porcupine”: strong, resilient, but one that needs to be provided with resources. And if I were an architect, I would say that Sumy region is an “entry group” a gate to Ukraine. And these gate remain firmly closed to the enemy.

That is why it is so important that international support for Ukraine should be balanced and not focused only on relatively “safe” regions. Support for border regions, such as Sumy, is a guarantee that people will not lose faith, will not leave their homes, and the “gray zone” will not expand to neighboring Ukrainian territories.

Support for Sumy should be not only in the humanitarian sphere, but also in the strategic one. Resilience should have an infrastructural dimension – through the development of medical and non-medical rehabilitation, rapid housing restoration, construction of modern highways into rear regions, ensuring mobility and digital solutions in the field of social services, et cetera.

The more modern projects we implement here, on the border, the safer and more stable the situation in the entire country will become.

I thank to all of our international partners for your faith and trust in Sumy region, for your support of our hromadas and people who remain here, work and protect the future of Ukraine every day.

Together we will definitely win.

Together we will build a state that we will be proud of.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha has called on partners to increase international support for Sumy region, which has already received over $35 million in assistance.

“For me and our entire diplomatic family, not only the 21st Brigade but the entire Sumy region has become home. I regularly visit the region and maintain contact with its leadership. Our embassies from around the world report on the practical results of raising aid for frontline regions. These results are there,” he said at the international conference entitled “Sumy region’s resilience and European future” at the Diplomatic Academy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the minister, last year, international support for Sumy region amounted to almost $55 million, significantly exceeding previous figures.

“This year, we must exceed this target. More than $35 million has already been raised. We are continuing our work,” he stated.

The Foreign Minister added that the issue of aid to Ukraine’s frontline regions is raised during all foreign visits. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally raises this topic with his colleagues.