"Without you" (Ukrainian: Без вас, romanized: Bez vas) was the speech given by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 11 September 2022 on social media during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Background

On February 24, 2022, in the ninth year of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. During the first days of the invasion, Russia advanced a considerable distance into the territory of Ukraine in many directions, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine soon drove the Russian Armed Forces out of the north of the country and counterattacked in other directions.

On the 200th day of the invasion and on the sixth day of Ukraine's Kharkiv counteroffensive, which lasted from September 6 to 12, the Russians struck the Kharkiv Thermal Power Plant 5 and partially cut off power in several areas.[7] The speech was made in response to this attack.[8][9][10]

Text of the speech

Below is an excerpt from the final part of the speech, translated from Ukrainian:[1]

Do you still think that we are "one people"?

Do you still think that you can scare us, break us, make us make concessions?

Did you really not understand anything?

Don't you understand who we are? What we are for? What we are talking about?

Read [my] lips:

Without gas or without you? Without you.

Without light or without you? Without you.

Without water or without you? Without you.

Without food or without you? Without you.

Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as terrible and deadly for us as your "friendship and brotherhood".

But history will put everything in its place.

And we will be with gas, light, water and food ... and without you!

Reactions

The speech became one of the symbols of the determination of Ukrainian resistance to the Russian occupation. Immediately after its publication, an online flash mob began among Ukrainians, who made social media posts with the hashtag #БезВас.[11]

US Atlantic Council analyst Peter Dickenson compared Zelensky's rhetoric in the speech with Winston Churchill's,[12] and journalist Serhiy Zvyglyanych drew analogies with the theses of Leonid Kuchma's "Ukraine is not Russia" and Petro Poroshenko's "Away from Moscow!"[11]

On November 17, 2022, the phrase "without you" was used by the British ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, when Kyiv was cut off by another attack. The photo she published showed a sprig of cotton (Bavovna), another symbol of the war.[13] Journalists also began to use the phrase in materials with advice on how to successfully survive the winter in the conditions of frequent power outages and interruptions of other municipal services.[14][15] The principle behind "without you" was applied by the media to Russia's exit from the grain agreement,[16] and life in liberated Kherson was called the "best embodiment" of the principle.[17] The phrase and a longer excerpt from the speech have featured on merchandise.[18]

On November 23, 2022, after a massive missile attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a large part of Moldova was without power. The blackout prompted Moldovans to join the "without you" flash mob.[19]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Навіть крізь непроглядну темряву Україна й цивілізований світ чітко бачать ці терористичні акти. Навмисні й цинічні ракетні удари по цивільній критичній... | By Володимир Зеленський" [Even through the impenetrable darkness, Ukraine and the civilized world clearly see these terrorist acts. Deliberate and cynical missile strikes on civilian critical... | By Volodymyr Zelensky]. Facebook (in Ukrainian). 11 September 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Noor Haq, Sana; Nechyporenko, Kostan; Chernova, Anna (12 September 2022). "'Without gas or without you? Without you': Zelensky's words for Russia as Ukraine sweeps through northeast". CNN. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  3. ↑ McDonald, Scott (11 September 2022). "Cold, Hunger and Darkness in Ukraine 'Not as Terrible' as Russia: Zelensky". Newsweek. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "Zełenski do Rosjan: Nadal uważacie, że możecie nas przestraszyć?" [Zelensky to the Russians: Do you still think you can scare us?]. Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). 12 September 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  5. ↑ Amsler, José-Luis (12 September 2022). "'Ohne dich': Selenskyj rechnet in Wutgedicht mit Moskau ab" ["Without you": Zelensky settles accounts with Moscow in a rage poem]. Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "'Ohne euch': Selenskyj rechnet in lyrischer Wutrede mit Russland ab" ['Without you': Zelensky takes revenge on Russia in a lyrical, angry speech]. Der Spiegel (in German). 12 September 2022. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  7. ↑ "В ОПУ підтвердили атаку по харківській ТЕЦ-5 – одній з найбільших в Україні (відео)". www.unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Guivan, Olya (11 September 2022). "We will have gas, light, water and food... and without you — Zelensky responded to the shelling of the infrastructure by the Russian army". suspilne.media. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "Зеленський – окупантам: Ми будемо з газом, світлом, водою, їжею і без вас". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Свобода, Радіо (11 September 2022). "'Без світла чи без вас? Без вас' – Зеленський прокоментував знеструмлення через обстріли". Radio Svoboda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  11. 1 2 Zvyglyanych, Serhiy (12 September 2022). "Хештег Без вас Зеленського рве соцмережі – як президент сформулював національну ідею України" [The 'Bez vas' Zelensky hashtag is tearing up social networks – how the president formulated the national idea of Ukraine]. Obozrevatel (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Жорстокий план Кремля. Яку серйозну помилку зробив Путін". nv.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Kravchenko, Olena (19 November 2022). "'Без вас'. Амбасадорка Великобританії з бавовною і ліхтариком показала вечір у Києві без світла" ['Without you'. The British ambassador with cotton and a flashlight showed an evening in Kyiv without lights]. gordonua.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  14. ↑ Shchepak, Yelena (18 November 2022). "'Без вас'. Як черкащанам підготуватися до зими з відключеннями світла?". 18000.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Не тільки свічки – діставайте різдвяні діодні гірлянди – журналіст - Новини Києва | Big Kyiv". Великий Київ (in Ukrainian). 7 November 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "'Без зерна чи без вас?' Чи є шанс зберегти зерновий коридор після російської істерики". Європейська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  17. ↑ Mazylyuk, Nazariy; Kyrylenko, Olga (17 November 2022). "'Згодні сидіти без води і світла, аби ми лишилися з Україною.' Як оживає Херсон" ["We agree to sit without water and electricity so that we remain with Ukraine." How Kherson comes to life]. Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  18. ↑ "T-shirt 'Without you'". DeepStateMapLive. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  19. ↑ "'В темряві, але без вас': у соцмережах Молдови запустили флешмоб після відключення електрики". Європейська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
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