In the two years since the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has made more progress as a country than it had since declaring independence in 1991. We are finally tackling corruption in a meaningful way, and we have introduced a raft of reforms that will help the state to function better. After our economy contracted for two consecutive years, we now expect to see it grow again. And we have achieved all of this under the most challenging of circumstances: while fighting a Russian-led war that has cost thousands of lives, and with a Russian occupation of the Crimean peninsula and the Donbas region crippling our economy.
Yet Ukraine continues its journey to becoming a democratic, fair and prosperous country at the gates of Europe, a vision that so many of my fellow citizens died for during the Maidan Revolution in the beginning of 2014 and continue to die for defending our country against Russia.
